Undertale: The Coalescing (Saintale 1)
by SaintDarkgold
Summary: This is an AU that takes place on the surface after the True Pascifist ending. This was supposed to be a happy ending, but it seems not all is right in this Undertale universe. Something evil is lurking, waiting for the time to strike. Now that time has arrived. The Coalescing has begun and Frisk may be the only one capable of stopping them and protecting those they love.
1. Prologue Part 1: Megalovania

Prologue Part 1

Megalovania

The great Judgment Hall is silent as death, for death is everywhere these days, seemingly polluting every corner of existence. The whole of the Underground wreaks of death's unholy stench.

So many have been slain, no that is not the word...Yes, slaughtered would be a more appropriate term. There was no nobility in their actions, no mercy.

The human... The thing that is supposed to be human was given judgment ever so long ago. It was clear their killing spree would never end.

Relentlessly, they hunted down and butchered every last monster in the entirety of the Underground. Of course the monsters tried to flee, flee the streets of the city the murderous being now stalked. Unfortunately, there was nowhere to flee. The barrier prevented them from achieving any sort of escape onto the surface. They were to no surprise killed, just as every other innocent soul was.

In the end, this place provided no safety to anyone. Even the great warrior and heroine Undyne had failed to stop them. If the captain of the Royal Guard could not save the citizens of the Underground, who could? The entire city was thrown into a fit of fear over the death of their saviour. Now, there is no one left to panic. A sad yet grim thought of what had befallen those outside this hall. Of course, there is always a chance for survivors. That is unlikely considering the human's persistent quest for genocide. Anyone who has survived the initial killing is probably dead regardless of whatever they did to hide.

The people of the Underground have all stood their ground in the face of this being. They tried to fight, but even their all couldn't even faze them. They consumed the monster's souls, absorbing them to become stronger. As they did this, their LOVE increased, the EXP they gained fuelling this expansion. Execution points are all they seemed to lust and each kill increased that addiction, each kill increased the human's Level of Violence. At this point, it is a heartless demon, ravaging the Underground creating only death and destruction. Nobody knows the real reason behind this, but it is clear it brought only ill intentions.

Oh, how so many have fallen to their strength, their Determination. That is the scary part though. It never did give up no matter the suffering, no matter how many times it died they kept coming back. They killed Muffet with no regard to her now motherless children. They killed Toriel despite her love for them. All she wanted to do was educate and care for them and instead she gets stabbed and butchered. Pure evil right there. Oh, and let us not forget the friendly, loving game show robot Mettaton who they killed with equal disregard. The fans were next.

That isn't even the worse of it. At least Undyne gave them a run for their gold, but even she couldn't stop them forever. They slaughtered her, watching her melt in pain, red eyes wide with glee. They proceeded to hungrily tear through her ashy remains in search of every last EXP. It was disgusting, wretched and evil. How could any sentient creature be so cruel, so bloodthirsty? Why would they abuse their powers in such a way to kill every poor citizen of this place?

It is genocide, simply put. No meaning, just mass killing, all on the behalf of a single individual. One who has no remorse for the weak or innocent. No respect for those who led them or fought for their safety in the other timelines. Only hate and greed exist for them. Selfishness and the need to control rule their thoughts.

Now men, women and children are all dead because of this single human, so impossibly determined to steal their EXP and souls. And they will stop at nothing to collect every last point. They will regret it though, they very much will when they enter this room. And only he has a chance to halt the coming arrival.

His name is Sans, Sans the skeleton and these are the thoughts that are racing through his head as he waits.

The murderous, psychotic freak killed his brother. Out of all people, why him? He is the nicest person down here and the human just stomped his head into the ground without remorse or thought. Brutal.

The human is going to pay. So dearly will the human beg for mercy when they meet him. They will beg for forgiveness, beg him to forgive all the deaths they caused. He wouldn't...ever. He would avenge the deaths of his friends and family, bring them the vengeance they deserved. These images plague the big boned skeleton as he awaits the human's arrival.

He knows he is the last thing preventing the human's victory. He is the only hope left, the only thing preventing total annihilation of the monster species and this realm.

 _I know why you won't die, why you won't give up kid_ , Sans thinks with his bony hands clenched into hardened fists within his blue hoody's pockets. The truth behind their unstoppable advance was quite simple really. The determination they possess basically allowed them to "SAVE", the god-like ability to create a save file that they could return to when they died. This could be done as long as they had enough determination. The problem was, the human never did lose determination. They just keep going, no matter what.

Undyne the Undying killed them countless times, yet the human still triumphed in the end. Sans knows Undyne was on a far lower level than him though, despite her warrior training. After all, he is able to do some amazing things like shortcuts and dodge any attack. He is going to use these powers to teach the genocidal monster a lesson in pain and defeat.

His strategy is simple: kill the human until they gave up. Once they give up, their determination will be gone. Without determination, they can't load their save file. In that case, they will die for good. Problem solved.

The plan doesn't help shake the anxiety out of him, the feeling that he will fail and die like all those before him.

 _Stay determined Sans_ , he thinks to himself rigorously. He pauses mid thought, a wave of depression taking over. _Why should I? Everything will reset anyways if I lose. Maybe then I can be happy with my brother again._

Sans digs around in his hoody pocket and weakly pulls out the red fabric of his brother's red scarf. In anger he clenches it in his fist, tears running down his face. The sadness rolls in like an unstoppable tide, none to different when he saw his brother's dusty remains strewn in the snow beside this very item.

 _That kid is going to die hundreds of times if I win or not_ , Sans thinks as he stares down the hall. _That dirty brother killer will never pass me, even if I must stand here for eternity._ He pauses and smiles. _And I'm going to enjoy every second of it. Every ounce of misery, hatred pain; I'll indulge myself in it._

"Wow," said Sans. "A real smile. Haven't done that in a long time. Never would have thought it would be the idea of hurting another person to." He takes a brief look out the window before setting his eyes on the hall once more. A long sigh exits between his big teeth. _What have I become?_

The hall has yet to offer the slightest sound of interest. All he can hear is chirping birds. At least they didn't murder the wild life. That's something right?

Sans looks down and kicks out his left foot. He is wearing slippers of course. It is either that or runners, but slippers just made more sense. To him at least. They are cosy.

"Of course I'm wearing the usual," he muttered lowly. "I'm too lazy to find a better style." He knew it isn't just that though. It is the fact the clothing felt just right. The black shorts with white stripes fit his big boned body perfectly and the blue, plush hoody is very comfortable. It caused an intolerable itch though. The white undershirt helped, but never entirely solved the problem. It held his ketchup well. He needed it. Teleporting takes lots of energy.

Everything would reset if he lost and Sans was mighty aware of this. It's what drops the hope he holds in his soul. This isn't the first time the consequences of a reset crossed his mind. The idea everything will start over, everything he worked for erased in the process. He would be forced to start back at the beginning from scratch. Then, he would proceed to repeat the same tasks over and over for eternity. It is the reason he is so lazy. Why do anything when it is impossible to get anything done?

Then you add the fact that this has happened seven times over. The first time went well actually. Chara was nice and did not reset, or so he was told. He was not alive that long ago. But they died of illness and then Asriel died, two horrible deaths in a single night. The other six human's who came after caused a fair amount of trouble, doing a neutral route, but also dying because their determination was not great enough to sustain their souls after death. So, the resets caused by those humans never caused much trouble. Then Flowey came and really started screwing things up. The flower compulsively reset, the times he did so exceeding that of all six previous humans combined. Now this Frisk character is just adding onto this.

 _Ever since that flower arrived things have been reset non-stop_ , thinks the skeleton. They never did stop resetting and this human, well...the new being with the reset would only repeat Flowey's endless cycle. Same problem caused by a new person. The flower is a nightmare, a soulless creature injected with determination. The only thing keeping Flowey alive is the will to live, the need to see every outcome, and the power to do so as he pleased. Until the human fell down and threw all that out the window. The human has more determination than any other thing in the Underground and so they now had the ability to reset, the flower losing his powers in the process. Flowey is the only monster in the Underground with determination besides Undyne, but Flowey is sustained through the substance itself. Therefore, the flower is stronger than her. But not a human. Their souls are just too powerful.

Sans also knows the flower is working along side the human and that he is the most likely reason they are committing their current actions. Like Flowey, they have to see every possible outcome. They are compelled to. Doing pacifist repeatedly wasn't enough. They want to see all outcomes because they can and they will. Simple as that. The curiosity led to blood crazed murder and insensitivity to those lives they once cherished. Remorseless mass murder was the result. _Being stuck in the same timeline really did drive people insane, didn't it? What does that say about me?_ That is a question he preferred to never know the answer to.

The reason for reset in its most fundamental state makes Sans question its existence as a whole. Why was it needed? Why did it exist? The flower never did reveal what he fully understood to him, nor to his brother. Often, he wonders what the truth is behind the timeline jumps and the whole resetting conundrum.

 _Only one person could ever understand this_ , Sans thought as he stares onwards. _Oh Gaster, if only you were still around to help us. We could use it._ The former Royal Scientist was deeply involved in the whole timeline thingy, never letting on how much he truly understood. He was always saying it was just a theory or that more time was needed.

W.D. Gaster was tasked with breaking the barrier once he finished the core, a task that would lead to the determination experiments involving the souls of fallen humans. He knows his companion learned about SAVE files from these projects, calling them "a by-product of a soul's strength and perseverance."

This was all abruptly ended when Gaster fell into the core, shattering his soul across the fabric of space and time. If he still somewhat existed, nobody knew. They have no means to find him in his current state.

Following his death, Asgore chose Alphys to become the new Royal Scientist, continuing Gasters' experiments. Before the whole core incident though, he gave Sans a decent clue as to how the reset worked and how Determination is responsible. It is the only reason why what is happening now made the least bit of sense.

Sans thumped his foot down on the hall floor in sudden rage. Determination. Why must human's have the most powerful of souls? Why? They don't deserve that kind of strength. It has brought death and nothing else. A dark thought struck his mind at that very moment. _What if that's the reason they are so strong?_

With a sigh Sans looked out the lovely paned windows. The empty city stared back, not a sign of life or activity amongst it. The only movement is from the wind, the underground current blowing a fine mist of white powder across the land. The remains of monster kind. Disgusting.

He snaps his head forwards, gazing down the long hall, pillars on either side. The endless repeating pattern of paned windows and stone supports seem to loom on forever. The square tile floor is brightly lit by what little light entered through the windows, giving the floor a fancy glare. Above him loomed the high ceiling, arching in a curve to create a rounder look. The room over all is perfectly clean and he assumed it would become quite the mess in the near future.

Sans took what little time he had remaining to remember the other timelines, the ones where Frisk was the good child they were supposed to be. Not...this.

The memories are faint and distant. Remembering previous timelines is by no means easy. He knows quite clearly that the child had been the most harmless thing in the Pacifist Route. All those times they laughed, all those times they spent together happy. They were a family. Not just him, but Papyrus, Undyne, Toriel, everyone. They were family and Frisk was at the centre, the child who wanted only love. Real love, not that violence crap. They had fun and lived happily ever after.

But now...They are merciless, a killing machine. How can someone so innocent become such a monster? It made him question if the human really is aware of their actions. Did they know about this? The fact they could reset meant it has to be Frisk, but why would they kill all the people they loved? _Why Frisk? Why must you do this? Is it just because you could?_ The skeleton ponders, holding back what little tears he has left to give. Pappy already took the majority.

 _No Sans, stop thinking about it_ , He scolds himself, shaking the thoughts out of his head vigorously. Y _ou have to kill them. If you do, Flowey will reclaim his place and everything will be normal once more. You'll have your brother back and everyone else. All you have to do is break their determination._

Sans now finished with his thinking stares at the flickering yellow Save Point patiently awaiting the human's arrival. As he does, the ball of dread inside him grows only stronger. He feels his self esteem drop greatly, but puts on his best smile for the human when they make it here. Don't want to disappoint our guest now, do we?

Sans is well aware he hasn't fought in a long time. _Actually, I can't remember the last time I did?_ That much is true. He never was a fighter. He just likes to lay around and be lazy, do nothing. In fact, fighting is the opposite of that. It made him being so utterly powerful ironic. But now he has a reason to fight and the human will see just how deadly a friendly guy like him can be in cold rage.

The sound of the save file going off echoes down the long hall, announcing the presence of his visitor. They are finally here and the forced smile becomes real as it widens further, a thrilling burst of magic energy drilling its way through his bones. Oh it's time.

From the halls opposite end approaches a slumped figure, crawling out from the darkness like some festering bug from under a log.

They radiate a field of hatred about them, a lust for death and murder, for pain. Their torn blue and purple striped clothes and shorts are stained with their own blood mixed with that of the countless monsters they have gutted. Their pale skin is caked with the ashes of innocents and they wear a blank face with a straight mouth, eyes concealed by the shadow of their bangs.

In their right hand a glimmering knife is held, brand new and so clean that Sans can see his skeletal reflection in it. They twirl the knife in their hand, the light from outside playing along its smooth surface. They may not have an expression, but the skeleton knew they had a great deal of emotional attachment to that weapon just from their behaviours. The sheer power of it is overwhelming.

Sans observes the demonic child as they walk up to him in their odd offset gait, each step fluid and precisely calculated. Occasionally the child would twitch their head and lick their lips. The fact that this is just a youth is quite horrifying. It sure as hell didn't look like a child covered in the remains of his friends, but no matter what he thought it didn't change the facts. It never will and never would.

Sans observes them closely, hands still in his pockets and smile wide upon his face. _What tricks do they have up their sleeve?_ He wonders as his tiny pupils dart around inside his eye sockets. Without a doubt there are more items than a simple knife in that kids inventory.

The human makes its final slow step, the final clack of bloody shoes slapping against the ground entering Sans' ears. The human has the knife in a death grip, already prepared for the fight. They stand mere feet away from him and are unimpressed by his smile. The determination they possess is indescribable. It was sheer and brutal, inspired by hunger for souls.

With the idea that this is only a child embedded in his head Sans thinks, _Better get this show on the road I guess._ Morbidity plagues his every thought. Today is not a bright day. Regardless of all the good memories from the other timelines, he can't help but stare into the human's concealed eyes with pure hatred. Every bone seemed to be melting with anger. Despite these inner feelings, he keeps his cool.

The human has equipped a heart shaped locket around their neck, a detail Sans picked up only when he focused in on the neck he so wished to snap. That locket though...No, it can't be? How? Only one person could possibly know.

"Chara," mouths Sans as they approach, the human's form flickering to that of the rosy cheeked child with red slits for eyes and a thin smile. The ethereal figure wears a green sweater striped with yellow and brown shorts. The only similarity between them and Frisk is the brown hair and shoes. Before Sans can even respond the image flickers away like static, leaving only Frisk behind. I _think I can see what's going on here, thinks Sans_. But there's no time to piece it together.

Knowing the fight is going to begin Sans begins to make one final attempt to reach out to the human, to the Frisk he remembered, the good kid he thinks of as family. "Heya, you've been busy, huh?" He says in his low toned voice. The human just ignores him.

Sans briefly avoids eye contact before continuing. Staring at that blank face was starting to get freakish. It makes him feel the chills. "So, I've got a question for ya; Do you think even the worst person can change? That everyone can be a good person, if they just try?" A evil grin forms on the human's face and the skeleton's smile twitches.

The human erupts into full blown laughter, a cold youthful laugh that echoes off the walls. Sans wants to reach and snap their neck, crush their soul into the ground and watch it fragment endlessly for eternity. The sick bastard will pay.

After a couple of seconds the laughter fades and they give the lightest of head shakes. Sans can't help but laugh himself. The human seems a little thrown off guard. Good, he was making a impression. "Heh heh heh heh...all right." He briefly pauses as he searches for the right words. "Well, here's a better question; do you wanna have a bad time? Cause if you take another step forward, you are REALLY not going to like what happens next."

The human snickers and takes the step. Sans knows he has failed and that they would fight to the death. "Bring it you big boned comedian," hisses the human as they toss up their knife and catch it as gravity brings it back down.

Sans takes a deep breath as he remembers Toriel's words. "Welp, sorry old lady. This is why I never make promises." The room grows dark as the they enter the fight, the soul of red veined with black materializing before the human. Their face is now blank as ever. Focused.

Sans closes his eyes and absorbs the ambiance of his surroundings, listening to the sounds around him. Collecting his inner thoughts would help him gain focus. "It's a beautiful day outside," he says. "Birds are singing, flowers are blooming. On days like these, children like you..." He opens his eyes to reveal blank sockets of eternal rage. The death of all those he loved run through him as he speaks the final part. "Should be burning in HELL!"

With a flash of light Sans's right eye sparks to life with a blue orb of magical energy burning with the intensity of a miniature sun. It sparks and flickers wildly, no control being had. The human is for the first time nervous, aware that this fight might actually be a slight problem. He snaps his fingers and his song begins to permeate the area. This megalomaniac was about to get it. "Now this is my jam."

Sans whips his hand out of his pocket and raises it high, the human being thrown into the air, soul dark blue as a field of bones shoots up beneath them. They manage to hover just long enough as their soul turns red. They slowly float down like a leaf and gently land.

"That's the easy part," Sans says as he throws a torrent of bones at the human as the armed projectiles appear behind the skeleton. Hands in his pockets, he manipulates their movements with his mind. "Let's see how you handle this."

The human smiles at mass of white lines descending on them like a hoard of angry bees. They scan the attack with cold calculating thought and find a way to thread the needle. They notice a curved path through the bones and at the last second sprint forward in a blur.

The human dodges and manoeuvres through the path as bones shatter around them. In no time at all the last bones hit and they slide to a stop and flip back up to their feet. They smile, hardly fazed. "Easy."

Sans shrugs with a wink. "Hey, don't judge me just yet kid. Let's see if you can survive this again." With that another field of bones appear and are launched in a flurry of white. They whistle down towards the human who is most unimpressed.

The human ponders the attack and once again zips their way through unscathed, that is until the half way point. At that moment everything changes as the bones start to fly in side ways. In a panic they try to dodge, using various acrobatic moves to evade the projectiles. Nearing the end the swarm is so thick they are forced to use their knife to slash them out of mid air. Red gashes begin to appear as the human takes the fight to the attack, but even that isn't enough. Just as the last dozen or so come flying in one sneaks in through their peripheral vision and scores a direct hit on their heart. Not the soul hovering in front, but rather the organ the skeleton lacked.

The bone impaled them, blasting a clear hole through their body. A spray of blood is ejected from their back. The red liquid splatters onto the floor behind them as they struggle to deflect and dodge. It is leaking profusely from the sides of the hole, soaking into the shirt. They squint in pain and gasp.

That isn't the last one though. Three more get past, two hitting the right lung, the human coughing up a red mist in response. They fall to their knees only to receive an extra to the gut, gore slapping onto the surface behind them.

Sans can't help but wince. _Damn Frisk, I'm sorry but it has to be done_. Frisk falls onto their side, the blood now saturating their clothes and pooling on the floor in a glimmering puddle. _I said I would indulge myself in this, but this is just awful. I never would have..._ Sans pauses and glances down. _What would Papyrus think of this? What would any of them think? Evil or not, their still a kid. What have I become?_

Frisk, in a final fit of effort manages to rip out the bone in their chest, a sickening sound of relief and pain exiting their mouth. They clasp a hand over the wound, but it does nothing to stem the flow as the sticky fluid flows it's way over their fingers, adding to larger pool around them. The human with a bloody laugh shakes their head. "Oh, do it again please. The pain is wonderful, oh the determination I feel it crawling through my skin."

Sans ignores the human's insane rambling and asks his own question. "So, how does it feel to get dunked on?"

They laugh. "Your just as dumb as Undyne. Killing her was a joy, to finally get revenge after all those resets. In fact, if she were any weaker I would love to reset over and over just to feel the glee of killing her, just to see the blood saturate the soft ground."

Sans can't help but gag at the purity of the human's evil. He quickly recovers, disgust replaced with rage. "What in the hell is wrong with you!" A Gaster Blaster, a magical weapon in the shape of a skull begins to charge its laser to his side.

The human doesn't respond as their face goes blank, the blaster releasing a ghostly beam of blue and white energy that envelops the human, evaporating them into subatomic particles. The Gaster Blaster dissipates and a single corrupted heart rises, cracking in half and shattering into several red shards. Sans shakes his head with a grin. _I take it back. I will enjoy this._

The human reloads their save file and Sans feels what little energy he used restore itself. They make their approach once more, ready to do battle. Hands in pockets, he waits. He knew deep down though that this fight is far from over and that he will start to become predictable.

Despite the circumstances, he can't help but taunt the human. He wants them angry, he wants them to quit. But it was fun too, so he was going to do it.

Sans shifts his eyes and nods as the human stands ready for combat once more. They are clearly enraged. The blank face wasn't so blank anymore. "Heya. You look frustrated about something." He pauses and the human twitches. "Guess I'm pretty good at my job, huh?"

The battle starts up again and it goes as it did last time. However, the human doesn't get hit. Not once. Not only are they learning, but they are learning fast. It was going to become a problem.

Frisk darts around with speed even Sans himself finds impressive. They sure are quick. He follows the dodging techniques carefully, trying to develop a counter to their movements. They cut away the bones in a blur of steel and dash in what could be a shadow. Intimidating, but not a problem he can't handle.

Sans moves his arm and summons four Gaster Blasters, all of which circle the human. They begin to charge, but the human is able to dodge the beams with a powerful leap.

"Hmmmmmmm", hums Sans as he rearranges the blasters into a square. They fire and the human plays smart, not moving as they create a fence of lasers around them.

The skeleton now raises the blasters and morphs them into two larger variations, both which circle the human. They charge and launch their ghastly beams, the white energy chasing after the fleeing human as they jump and slide around them.

Knowing this is a fruitless attack they are dissipated and the human, not the least bit tired, grins.

Sans roles his eyes. "So you survived my first attack, huh." He glances of to the side briefly before resuming eye contact. "Welp, there's a lot more coming your way."

It was the human's turn though and they enter a full blown sprint, eyes a boiling pot of insanity. They slash the knife at Sans and hit...nothing? A miss? The human flips forwards to recover from the miss and turns around to see the skeleton standing behind them shrugging. "What? Did you really think I was just going to stand their and take it?" The human frowns slightly and lunges again only to fall flat on the floor where Sans was previously located. They get up and turn around once more.

Sans is simply standing. They have no time to react though. The skeleton is already mid-swing and his fist comes down right on their nose. Direct hit! A sharp crack is released from the breaking bone. He feels their nose flatten under his fist, blood launching up from the wound. The human stumbles back and wipes away the blood gushing from their flattened nose with the back of their nose. Sans doesn't bother to remove it from his fist.

"Walked right into that one kid," taunts Sans. "Or I guess you could say turned into." The human twitches and flickers to Chara who gives him a bone chilling smile before reverting to blank Frisk form.

Frisk attempts another running start, knife raised high as Sans struggles to understand how they can persist. How can they stay so determined? The determination needed would be of astronomical proportions. Then again, they have the soul of every monster in the Underground, so the true extent of their powers are debatable.

"Your not gonna get close this time," Sans says as giant bones are thrust through the dark floor in a clap of thunder. The ground shakes and Frisk barely manages to jump, but to counter their heart flickers to that of dark blue and gravity takes toll and down into a field of white they fall. But the human was by no means stupid. They manage to handstand on one and flip onto the next. In seconds they're making a full sprint across the obstacle.

 _Damn it_ , _I thought that would be a killing move right there_ , Sans thinks with inner frustration. _Welp, time to mix things up a little._ With this in mind he begins to make them bob and move. The human slows down to maintain balance, but fails to show the slightest sign of falling.

 _Maybe the problem is quantity, not quality._ More bones erupt from the ground. Debris rains all around and the human continues their parkour. Note to self: More makes it easier on enemy in air. By then it's too late to do anything else. The human jumps off the final bone and flies down, knife aimed straight for the skeleton's chest.

"Nope," says Sans as he teleports to the side. The human makes a quick roll recovery, knowing he has moved. They lash out blindly to the side and look up to see him staring down at them.

"Heya kid, you don't look to good." The human whips the cold steel blade upwards. By then it is to late though. The skeleton is suddenly beside them, foot connecting straight with their rib cage. The cracking of more bones fills his ears and a trickle of blood runs down the human's lip. One of the ribs must have punctured a lung. Not like he cared. Good.

The human weakly attempts another attack, a pitiful slice that he easily slaps away. The knife is knocked out of their hand and onto the floor. He levitates them with a quick gesture and with the extension of his arm to the right the human flies to the right, hitting a stone pillar with a thud.

Sans watches the human weakly rise, legs wobbly. "Legs feel a little like jelly don't they?" He shrugs. "Honestly, your pathetic. I have a single hit point and can do only one damage. How can you not beat me?"

Angry, the human charges with strength anew, swiping the knife in rage. Just what he wants. The human is ready for bones to emerge from the ground but not the ceiling. This is a weakness Sans is willing to exploit.

The attack comes so suddenly the human doesn't even have time to react. A large bone scores a immediate hit through Frisk's gut, punching a dodge ball sized hole through them.

The human now lays on the ground, pinned by the giant bone that impaled them wearing an expression of shock that Sans would happily pay his tab at Grillby's to see.

Frisk lays unmoving, deep breaths sending out swaths of blood. The majority of it is pooling around them, just like last time. The pain is evident in the face of the human. "Pain is good. I'll kill you Sans. Your soul will be mine. Bring it. I'll just keep reloading my save file. You can't go on forever." The human gurgles a raspy laugh.

Sans considers letting the human sit there and suffer. They deserve it. It's revenge, perfectly acceptable revenge. Yet...Sans closed his eyes and squints. _They are Frisk. I-I can't just torture them. At least they be killed quick. I have no right to brutalize them this way._

Sans sighs and advances on the human, ready to give some pay back. His magical blue eye focuses on the indigo heart, ready to pop it like a balloon. The human turns to Chara who wears a smile as the skeleton looms over them. He sets his foot down on the heart as the demented child braces themselves for the pain.

"This is for Papyrus!" He shouts as he puts his weight into his foot, crushing the heart. Chara laughs as they fade, the heart shattering into a million blue pieces under his foot. It disappears and the sound of it shattering fills him with a sense of achievement, of progress. Why did it feel so good to crush their soul? He once again awaits the human's arrival, doing his best to mentally justify his actions.

A very angry human stumbles out from the darkness, clearly unhappy about the current circumstances. Each step possesses a alien fluidity, a grace that seems to portray innocence. They flickered to Chara often. It seems the more enraged they became, the more prominent Chara will become. A realization finally hit Sans. _What if I'm just making them stronger? Is me defeating them just giving them power?_ Regardless, there is no time to debate. The human now in Frisk form is on the move, slashing their way through hastily summoned bones.

The fight proceeds and ends with a direct hit from a Gaster Blaster, instantly shattering the soul. "Here's a present from Toriel!" Yells San in rage as he kicks what ashes of the human remain before fading away. His blue eye flickers with power.

Once again the human reloads. The human is gaining knowledge on his attacks. They are learning and are still very much determined. If they do not give up soon the fight might actually become dangerous.

They fight, the human now getting further, but not by much.

"I personally don't think it's okay to kill every living creature you come by." Sans shrugs with his wide grin pasted on his face. "But hey, that's just my opinion."

The human jumps forwards and dodges a burst of bones, lashing out with the sharpened steel. Sans teleports to the side and levitates them up into the air. They squirm, kick and struggle, yet the skeleton's magical telekinetic grip doesn't flinch in the least.

"Your not accomplishing anything by doing this kiddo." Sans gives them a menacing look. "Why do you do this? Do you do it just because you can or for power, or what?"

Frisk flickers to Chara. "Many reasons," they whisper as Sans tightens his magical grip.

"Such as?" He persists.

"None of your concern," barks Chara as they revert back to Frisk.

"Fine, we can continue to fight I guess." He swipes his hand across his chest, the human following the movement. They hit the right pillar with a loud crack. Sans throws them against the left wall. Progress, but still alive. He slams against the ceiling, throws to the floor, bashes them against the walls, and repeats. Finally, the soul of the mangled human shatters and the bloody stains fade from the walls.

Several more rounds follow, all leading to their death no matter how hard they try.

At round ninety-nine Frisk has something to say. "This time your going to get it." There was no anger to be found in the words, only cold hearted meaning.

"Whatever kiddo," dismisses Sans. "I'll kill you until you give up." With that he creates a storm of bones composed of both blue and white. They rain down, but all fail to land a blow. Instead, they shatter against the floor uselessly.

Next come the Gaster Blasters, all of which fire their ghostly beams. Misses, all of them misses. The human is simply too quick and precise, flipping of walls and darting from one place to the other. Their movements are just too sporadic to track. The skulls have failed once more.

Sans continues his assault and pressures their skills further as bones jut through the walls, forcing them to jump and duck. They successfully do so, the attack having no effect.

"Try and hit me," beckons Sans as he eyes the human with his one blue fiery eye. The human obliges, sprinting with the blade poised to strike. They slash it wildly, but he is too quick, every attack missing as he teleports side to side.

"Wow, you really are slow aren't you," says Sans with his big grin. The human lashes out, swiping the knife upwards only to realize he is now behind them. This time they pump their legs down and flip right over him. With the skeleton now in front of them, they swipe and miss.

"Little too late, bud." Sans now goes on the offensive, his bony fist flying straight into the human's gut. The satisfaction gained when he feels it sink into their chest is fulfilling. Air exits the human with a loud off as the pain stuns them.

They're launched back several meters and are sent forwards again as Sans hits from behind, teleporting to where they would land just in time to hit them again. Injured, they skid to a stop on the floor. In their weakened state they have no means to resist his telekinetic powers. He easily lifts them into the air.

"Give up will you? This is pointless. You can't win," argues Sans. "I've killed you ninety nine times so far." The human manages a weak nod in their weakened state. Is that tears in their eyes?

Sans blue energetic eye perks. This is...Unexpected "Really? I guess that's logical. Ya know, I wasn't even using my full power there. But, if you want me to spare ya..." He pauses a shrugs. "I ain't got no problem with that."

Sans takes a deep breath as memories of all the good days with Frisk come rushing back. "I know you didn't answer me before, but... somewhere in there, I can feel it. There's a glimmer of a good person inside of you. The memory of someone who once wanted to do the right thing. someone who, in another time, might have even been... a friend? C'mon, buddy, do you remember me? Please, if you're listening, let's forget all of this, ok? Just lay down your weapon, and... well, my job will be a lot easier." The human would accept. He knows they will. They are too weak to continue on fighting. He would love to spare Frisk, but their is a slight trust issue here.

Frisk lets the knife slip from their grip and clatter against the hall floor in despair. They smile, knowing that they may finally have done something right. This wasn't the cold smile of a murderer, no, this was Frisk. The one he remembers, his friend and family. Not the dirty brother killer.

"Please give me mercy," the human whines as tears of realization run down their face. They sob and cry, the crimes they committed rushing back to them. "S-sans...help me please. They...I can't." They shake their head mournfully. "Oh god, what have I done? Why did I do it? W-w..." They degrade into full blown tears as they cry. "I just want to g-go h-home... I-i'm s-s-so s-sorry.."

Sans isn't sure of what to do. He swears this is the original Frisk, not the psycho murderer. Yet... Can he really trust them after all they did? Are they that deserving of forgiveness. In all honesty, he felt bad for the human. They are just a child after all, and if his theory was correct, possessed by Chara.

"Sans," Frisk says gently as tears of regret paint their face. The pain seems too worsen with every word. "Please, can we be friends again? I can reset and fix everything. I remember all those times, the good times, just as clearly as you."

He is about to mercy them, to become friends once more. The last words really drill it in. It is true, they can do a Reset and start from the beginning.

Then the hatred returns stronger than ever. They can't live though, especially with Chara inside of them. Frisk or no Frisk, they must perish.

Sans winced as his morals conflicted. _They are so innocent though. I can't just kill them like this. What would that make me? Do I really want to drop to their level? I-I..._ With all his might he tries to supress the rage, tries to look at the bright side. _I'll kill them. I just need to control my anger._

He can't.

His soul flares with anger as he reflects back on all the crimes committed by the human. It has to be a lie, a trick...right? It can't be Frisk. It is all Chara. And if he accepts he is sure they will stab him in the back.

The memory of the human crushing his brother's skull under their foot came back, that innocent face being ground to dust by the emotionless freak that was once his friend. It would take one hell of a psycho to kill his brother. He was goofy, funny and lovable in every way. He never did fight well, or liked to for that matter. He was just a peaceful puzzle maker wanting to be a Royal Guardsman... who kept faith in the human even as he took his last breath. Sans would have argued his faith may have been misplaced, but what was the point? Everyone is dead now. It didn't matter.

Oh, but the human doesn't care for all the souls they killed and consumed. And now here they are, begging for his forgiveness. It was pathetic and quite a low blow thing to do. After killing Papyrus they happily continued their bloody crusade, staining the snow with the blood and dust of every monster they came across.

Sans knows not the extent of the damage caused by the human. That day he spent weeping over his brother's remains, promising that he would do everything he could to avenge his brother and everyone who suffered at the hands of this child. He refused to have the entirety of the Underground consumed by some demonic human. Knowing that demon was Chara made it all the more serious.

"So you're sparing me?" Sans says with a forced smile, trying with all his might to conceal his inner feelings. "Finally. Buddy. Pal. I know how hard it must be... to make that choice. To go back on everything you've worked up to. I want you to know... I won't let it go to waste. ... c'mere, pal."

Frisk smiles as they open their arms wide for a hug. "I just want you to know that I'm sorry. Chara...They are-" They wince and spasm in pain. "Strong, thirsty. Don't worry Sans, I'll love you always. Like family. And Chara will never change that."

"I know kid and that's why I'm sorry to," Sans says as a single tear flows out from the magical eye in his left socket. The guilt is destroying him, but it has to be done. Chara has to die and Frisk will only prevent him from achieving the justice all their victims deserved.

Frisk frowns. "Wait, what do you mean? Sans, what are you-" They scream as they find themselves falling down onto a bed of bones. With a sickening sound they land, dozens of miniature bones piercing their body. Frisk raise their hand weakly as the gory mess of themselves spreads between the bones. "Sans... I-I trus-" The hand falls limp. The soul cracks and shatters, the remains fading away.

The energy from the reload doesn't make the skeleton feel any less guilty. He knows he just killed his best friend in a act of traitorous betrayal. Not the emotionless murderer, but the real Frisk, the one he remembered. _Who am I?_ He questions, looking down in despair. It felt horrible to kill the human that way. Just wrong. He killed them in an act of mercy. No different than how they killed his brother, Mettaton or Muffet. _What have I done?_

The human again traverses the hall, now stomping their way over without fluid grace. The human flickers to Chara and doesn't change back. What little of Frisk was left is now gone, having lost all faith and hope when he killed them. The knife is held in white knuckled hands, the human gripping it with a passion for his demise.

"Using my own methods against me are we now?" They say in a young, cold voice filled with insanity. "Have you really degraded so much as to use such tactics against me?" They laugh. Sans doesn't respond.

"Tell you what Sans, do you want to have a good time? Because if your getting a little tired I'll happily put you to sleep." They smile and lock their lips, twirling the knife between the pointer fingers. "You look like you could use a nap."

Sans pretends to think hard as he rubs his chin. "Let me think here a bit," he says. "Ummmm, no." He blinks and grins wider. "How about you get dunked on. That would be good time, wouldn't it?" He weakly laughs, nervous sweat running down his brow.

Chara gives a simple head shake, a madness beyond recognition in their eyes. "I'm going to kill you Sans. I can't die and you can't dodge forever. Your bound to make a fatal mistake."

A chilling laugh exits Chara's mouth. "I'll reset everything and kill everyone you love repeatedly in front of you. I'll pick apart your bones piece by piece, absorb you point by point." They point the knife at Sans blue eye. "I'll cut out your eye and keep it as a trophy for my own satisfaction." They twitch and jitter. "I'm going to make yo =)" Speech over they release a dark aura outlined in deep crimson around them. They move smooth fluid grace, a deadly intent flickering in their eyes, like a starving animal stalking its prey. Their heart flickers out in front of them, black with a crimson outline as the battle begins.

Sans stares dumbfounded at the human, overwhelmed by their sheer determination. _Oh no_ , thinks Sans he begins to worry for the first time since this began. _What have I done? How are they able to summon their true form? Did I really supply them with so much anger? Add the fact I just killed what little good remained inside of them, they are unbelievably powerful._ On the plus side it meant this was the last battle. This must be what's left of their determination. If he killed them inside their true form, they will use up every ounce. They would be dead, permanently. But that would require killing Chara, something he doesn't think he is capable of.

It is time for the real fight to begin. Sans shrugs. "Let's just get this over with."


	2. Prologue Part 2: Megalo Strike Back

Prologue Part 2

Megalo Strike Back

Chara skips down the hall surrounded in their corrupt aura, a savage smile complete with a pair of predatory red eyes dominating their face. Their every footfall is barley audible, the human being too quick and silent on their feet to hear. _Here we go again_ , they think darkly. What kind of horrible deaths did Sans have in store for them?

Sans does his best to show as little surprise as possible, but on the inside he can't help but feel offset by the sheer determination at the human's finger tips.

Chara jumps to a stop and looks into his singular blue eye. "I know the truth Sans," They say in a youthful voice full of friendliness, no doubt an illusion or trick to portray false innocence. It made the skeleton wonder what they really did know. Chara after all, is quite ancient. Not by age, but by soul.

They snap their fingers and his music stops playing, the chirping birds now the only sound. "Hey, what did you just do?" He asks as casual as possible. It didn't come out the way he expected. It is rather whiny.

"This is my show now," laughs Chara in their now low tone. The laugh was like the flower's but deeper and slower. The music suddenly fires up again to something he has never heard. " N."

With those words they go on the offensive, the knife sheathed as a glove appears on their right hand. _Now the megalo_ will _strike back_ , they think as Sans hastily summons a pair of Gaster Blasters. They leap left, the blaster fires and misses. They skid back to the right and the other misses. Easy.

They thrust themselves up and hit the first blaster with a swift uppercut, the force of the impact sending it reeling upwards in shards. They proceed to slap the second away, knocking it against the wall where it erupts into a sprout of blue fire.

"Wow Sans, that was very unimpressive," they say as their turn begins. They swing their fist, but Sans avoids it by teleporting out of the way. "Stay still so I can hit you!" They scream, swinging another miss.

"I don't think you have much room to talk kiddo," Sans says as he continues to evade their relentless attacks. They come a lot closer to hitting in this form though. He can feel the wooshing of the blade as he moves side to side.

Finally they recede, Sans not showing the slightest hint of exhaustion. He just shrugs. "Heh, you missed big time there. Now it's my turn." Bones are launched out from below and Chara is forced to leap up. As they do, the ballet shoes appear on their feet and they enter a full sprint across the tops of the bones. They do it in skipping fashion, the shoes helping to maintain stability.

Chara pumps their legs across, leaping from bone to bone, doing everything they can to keep balance. Their black soul is glowing with hatred, the red aura getting more intense the harder they push themselves.

Sans counters with several Gaster Blasters, all stationing in a firing line to his left. They release blue beams of magical energy that cut down the field of white, the human nimbly skipping over the collapsing bones. The human is simply too fast for the weapons to track. This having failed, it seems that the human's progress is inevitable.

Chara flips off a bone and pulls out a book, opening it with malevolent intentions. _Ah yes, this will suit my purposes well._ Upon landing they slam the book shut, a large ripple of air pushing the unsuspecting skeleton onto his big bony ass. _Yes, finally I have a chance._

Chara draws their knife and runs at the skeleton in a burst of determination, cold steel ready to strike. "Now you'll die!" They cry as the knife rushes down...At nothing. Sans has already moved, his current location being behind the very irritated human. They breath a heavy sigh.

"Fucking really, what is this shit?" They grumble. The skeleton stood with hands in pockets, smiling, nit having a care for anything in the world. The taunting look is really beginning to grind at their nerves.

"Hey, I haven't even gotten to show you my special attack yet." Special attack? This already powerful enemy has a special attack? How in the hell are they supposed to win? _There must be a flaw_ , Chara thinks as they calculate their next move. _Always stay a step ahead. If you do that you'll do just fine._ They whip their damp hair and take a deep breath, knife clenched in hand.

"Shut the hell up, I know." They swipe the knife across his chest, but he teleports. A total miss.

"Try harder and you might get somewhere." Sans winks off to the left. The human lashes out with a fearsome kick. He teleports rendering the move pointless.

"Holy shit, can just stay still for one second you bony fuck!" Chara stomps on the floor in frustration. It shakes with every impact.

Sans chooses to go offensive and lashes out with a skeletal fist, finding the human's anger hilarious. The human isn't stupid though. They dash to the side, Sans flying right through their previous location.

Chara, knowing this is a great opportunity slashes down the blade where he should have been. Emphasis on should. But of course Sans isn't there, having teleported several meters in front of them. _He is quite literally untouchable_ , thinks Chara as they plan their next move. Oh, how they want to pierce him with the cold steel of their knife.

"I have to admit Chara, your quite quick." His blue eye flickers to the side. "But overall your stuck between a rock and a hard place." He chuckles. "You did get me a little worried there though."

"Get used to it," they spit with acidity. "Because your going to get that feeling a lot more. Take now for instance." They draw the antique gun and fire of several rounds of magic bullets, some blue, some orange.

Sans realizes this is actually a threat to him and teleports in a wide circle around Chara as they continue to track him, praying for a single hit. That hit doesn't come, the click from the empty gun speaking for itself.

Sans is suddenly back up front, appearing out of nowhere as per usual. Chara gives him a dull frown. The skeleton simply does not care. "Damn, playing with guns are we now? Your a little young for that arn't you?"

"Fine," says Chara as they pull out the frying pan. "I'll just bash your head in with this instead." With that satisfying picture in mind they charge.

"I'm done waiting for your attacks. Time to level the playing field." Sans launches a burst of three bones. The human manages to swat them away, the white projectiles shattering with a clang against the stainless steel surface.

Sans summons more bones and using the pan as a make shift shield, they slowly progresses down the looming hall. The bones whistle down the hall and crack upon impact against the frying pan.

Not tolerating this, a Gaster Blaster materializes to his left. Chara rolls to the side, aware that the pan offered no protection from its deadly beam. It misses, cutting a dark mark into the hall behind them. Within seconds of firing the skull is gone.

"Die!" Chara once again draws the gun, firing three rounds down the hall with three bangs.

"Not today." Sans counters the bullets by launching three bones. The two opposing projectiles collide dead centre, annihilating each other in a cloud of smoke. The smell burns Chara's nose, but they couldn't care less. Pain is a distraction.

The hall is left at a stand still. The skeleton tired, sweating from exhaustion. The human faring much the same, their red eyes giving him a wary stare of deadly intent.

Despite the hatred circulating throughout the room, it is for once quiet. The birds chirp and the flower's bloom. It really is a nice day outside. It could improve however if a certain individual never existed.

Chara twirls their knife, observing their rosy cheeked reflection. Their brown hair is damp and drooping, concealing their eyes slightly. _I have him now. He's tired. But...I want to do something quick. A test..._ They supress a wicked chuckle. It would be fun. They can hardly control their urge to burst out into evil laughter.

Sans looks out the window making sure to keep one empty socket on the human at all times. They didn't seem up to it right now, but safety isn't guaranteed. He grips Papyrus's cape in his pocket. _I've almost shattered their determination. As weak as they are, this fight shouldn't be hard if I use my full power on them._ It takes all he has to not waver his smile and leak tears. He didn't want to encourage them.

"Let us talk," begins Chara as they fidget with their blade. "After all, it's not like you have much of a choice."

"Why should we?" Questions Sans, blue eye sparking intensely. "We know where we stand and what want. There is nothing to discuss."

Chara begins to pace, their head twitching from side to side. "Because I want to know why you fight. Why not just give up? You have no determination."

"Cause you need to be stopped," he replies. "You killed them all and I'm gonna bring them the justice they deserve."

Chara releases a childish giggle, covering their mouth with the cold steel blade of the weapon. It leaves a metallic taste in their mouth. "Why, how noble of you Sans. Very brave indeed. But, even to say you do kill me... What will you do next? Everyone is dead, there's nothing to go back to. You'll be sealed alone down here with only my father and that flower for company. Do you really want that? You would end up killing yourself in the end anyways, the emotions of your loss too much to handle."

The skeleton scratches his skull weakly. "You know what kid, your right. But killed here, now or later, I'll do everything within my power to make your life miserable. That is why I fight."

"You fight for vengeance then? Intriguing. It seems we are compelled by the same motive." They lick their lips hungrily. "Oh yes, just for your notice, killing me in this form will not shatter my determination."

Sans is instantly confused. "Wait, what?" His expression jitters a bit. If this is true, he is not sure if he could win. "Then how are you-"

Chara cuts him off with a swift cutting motion. "You see Sans, you could have accepted the mercy. Clearly you didn't."

"Yeah, no need to rub in the salt you brat." Sans feels the guilt return with its own vengeance, knocking around his emotions like a boat stuck in a storm at sea. It had to be done. Yet, that thought didn't seem to satisfy his morals or standards.

Chara continues. "You didn't kill me there. It was Frisk, the other one you call family. Or used to..." Ouch. Those are heavy words. "They managed to regain control just so they could mercy you. I was actually worried he would take full control, erase everything I had worked so hard for." They grin. "But you killed them and they lost hope, they lost control of what determination they had left. Now, I'm nearly a hundred percent in control. Far stronger than you could imagine. I'm not going to lie, you probably would have beaten me if Frisk were spared. But now-" They point the knife at themselves. "I'm the one in control. Me. Chara."

Sans can't help but cry out in frustration as he weeps. Despite playing cool, he can only take so much. "Frisk," he sobs as the tears stream out from his eye sockets. "Frisk, come back! Please! I promise I'll give you the mercy you deserve. I promise-"

Chara stomps their foot down, the skeleton immediately closing his mouth. Weakly, he wipes away the tears. "Pathetic. I can't your droopy emotional crap. You fucked up Sans, admit it. No matter what you do to kill me, I'll just load my Save File and persist until you die. So suck it up Sansy boy and let me kill you!"

Chara prepares to move in and attack. They calculate their next attack, slowly analysing him.

Their plotting is interrupted by Sans who now speaks in a tone dead of emotion. It reminds them of a soul that has been lonely and neglected for centuries. The way that face is solidified into that grin, the way the fiery eye remained consistent in its brightness. It all seems so familiar.

It reminds them of themselves.

 _Perhaps I may have gone a little too far_ , realizes Chara. They stand and stare for a long time.

Finally Sans speaks up. "Don't you dare, ever call me that again. Or else your going to have a REALLY bad time. Cause you'll be wishing you were already burning in hell when I'm done with you." He pauses. "I dare you to say that again, cause if you do I'm going to beat the ever living shit out of you. I'm going to make you suffer, and I'm not going to hold back anything." A fire burns inside of him at the sound of that name. _Don't think I won't break the rules to kill you_ , he thinks in blind anger. _Because I honestly don't care at this point, especially since you existing e right now is already against the rules._

Chara is unnerved by this, every syllable sending a shiver down their spine. They are irking to taunt him more. How can they resist such a beautiful opportunity? That skeleton can't have much left in him.

They smile. "Sansy boy."

Sans just nods. "Welp, you asked for it. Don't beg for mercy when you start crying."

"Do your worst." They whisper with a smirk, their voice as loud as a shout.

Sans is beyond feeling now. He is done putting up with the child's villainy. It is time to show them his real power, something they cannot survive. The birds are gone, the ambience of nature replaced by the focus to kill, to kill until they gave up and died. He is the one who is going to have a good time now.

Chara's smirk is gone when they turn around to see bones zipping in like lightning, a whole swarm of them. Around them is a ring of Gaster Blasters already charging. It was as if the entire Underground is attacking them at once.

It is at this moment Chara realizes they fucked up.

They are instantly riddled by dozens of bones and what pieces of them remain are incinerated by the sheer volume of blaster fire. The display is so large Sans doesn't even see the heart shatter. All he knows is that Chara died in a epic display. Good.

 _Unavoidable attack_ , thinks Sans as he does an overview of his sin. _No way to dodge, unfair use of magical ability. Combat system unfair. Relativistic integrity damaged._

Chara reloads and can't even make a single step before being slammed onto the floor several times, shattering various bones. They are then thrown against a large bone on the hall wall which rips straight through their chest in a spray of gore. Sans isn't finished though. He slaps them against the walls and floor some more, the heart finally shattering into black flakes. The gory display fades as they reset.

 _Spawn kill_ , thinks Sans with dread. _Instantly killed upon spawning by an unavoidable attack engaged outside dialogue/encounter zone. More distortion of reality_.

Chara reloads to face a field of white raising under them. They leap up and roll, just barely avoiding more that come from the side. They duck to avoid the bones from the ceiling and are cheated out of victory as they are crushed to a gory pulp between the bones of the ceiling and wall which compress in on them.

 _More rules broken out of vengeance_ , thinks Sans. _High levels of distortion present. Fourth wall sustaining major damage._

This continues several times over, Chara becoming increasingly frustrated as Sans repeatedly kills them. Be it by bone or Gaster Blaster, he shows no signs of stopping. _This is becoming a issue_ , Chara thinks as they load again, ready to die for the zillionth time.

This time they actually manage to survive the onslaught of attacks and remain damage free. That isn't to say they are not exhausted. Their lungs burn and heart pumps, but what does pain matter when you've been burned alive in the lava of Hotland or stabbed to death hundreds of times by Undynes' magical spear? Death has made them immune to pain, allowed them to embrace it.

"So you finally made it." San gives them a shrug. "You know what? Since I'm a nice guy I've decided to stop killing you." He pauses to choose the right words, a lurking presence finally fading along with a pair of small red eyes. " Mainly because I feel a little better now. So, can we let the real fight begin now?" He double checks and is full of relief to see it gone. It's been their since he broke the rules. Now that he is following the rules, it will leave him in peace.

That means he is going to die and nothing will stop that. After all, being a moderator doesn't mean you can break every rule.

"Of course you dipshit, why the hell do you think I'm here?" Chara is impatient and ready to tear their way through Sans' second round. He isn't going to let up easy, this is for sure. But if they could just stab that skeleton once, one blow and it would all be over. _Why does he have to be so quick?_ Whines the human mentally.

"Now the real fight can begin," Sans says as Chara braces for whatever attack the skeleton may throw at them. They are too focused to show any sign of insanity or rage. "I think it's time you see just how good I really am."

Bones are punching out from the ground and Gaster Blasters are appearing out of nowhere, tracking the human as they jump to dodge the bones. They hit the cold floor as the skulls release their weapon, the heat scorching their back. The human now safe gets up only to see everything go black.

 **Flicker.**

Now floating in darkness with no sense of anything they worry. _What is this? How can Sans do this? It seems their is a lot more to him than I previously thought. But now what?_ They know this can't be good and that it is going to kill them.

The darkness fades away and with relief Chara is able to see and feel again. They glance briefly below them and notice they are falling down into a field of white. _Oh shit!_ With that the human scans for someway to remain airborne. The opportunity to do so presents itself when several bones like pistons break through the walls.

In panic they manage to grab one, shoving the knife into it. Their sweaty hands slide to a halt on the smooth surface. Their grip is slipping and Chara attempts to pull themselves up with the knife to gain a stable position on the moving surface.

They find Sans standing on the ceiling all casual like it's no big deal. He winks and with his telekinetic powers, breaks their fingers like twigs. Chara falls, their fingers no longer able to hold on, and are suddenly plunged into the black void once more.

 **Flicker.**

 _What? What is he doing? I'm still alive?_ They wait patiently, breath wavering and limbs aching from the constant movement. Sans isn't playing around anymore. Shit just got real.

Chara is brought back into reality, facing a new obstacle. At least their feet are planted on the floor this time. Sans is watching over them with his toothy smile. Chara wants to smash in his blocky grin, feel their fist shove the shards of teeth down his throat. But there are bigger problems.

A white line rushes out from the left in a blur, barely missing them as they drop to the floor with a thud. Rolling back onto their feet they smile and step out of the way of a second from the right. "I expect better from your most Sans," grumbles Chara. The ground shakes and they jump up, that attack also missing. That one is getting old.

 **Flicker.**

Sans doesn't respond as everything goes dark. Chara cries out in frustration, unable to do anything until they flash back into reality. Once they do, they take in their surroundings.

They are once again in the Judgement Hall centre, but Sans is no longer, wait! He is just...Now gone. That means he's...No, then where is he? Left, right or left? Chara tries to follow the skeleton, but he is constantly teleporting, seemingly existing in several places at the same time. It is freaky how he can just be their one second and gone the next. He seemed everywhere yet nowhere.

Gaster Blasters flicker into existence around them and fire, Chara now doing a zigzag movement to throw off their aim. The tactic works rather well. It is easy, but energy consuming. You have to move fast and erratically to fool those weapons.

 **Flicker.**

The dark engulfs them and drops them at the hall centre. Not knowing what to expect, the human twitches nervously. _Come on out Sans, I know your around here somewhere._ Their red eyes scan the hall for him.

Sans, as if answering their call, begins to appear and disappear randomly. It's not the least bit consistent. Each time he does this he make sure to launch a burst of three bones.

The human feels a sense of overwhelming panic as the long bones descend like swooping birds. I _have to avoid these?_ Thinks Chara in dismay. _How the fuck am I going to manage that?_ _It's like fighting Undyne all over again._ At this thought an idea goes off in their head.

Chara whips out the frying pan and in a blur of supernatural swiftness manages to deflect the bones away with outstanding speed. The magical calcium projectiles shatter against the makeshift shields' stainless steel surface. At the end of the onslaught a mess of shattered bones lays around them. _I did it,_ thinks Chara gleefully. _Ha ha, I survived!_

It isn't over yet though. Sans rushes out from the shadows of the nearest pillar. Too tired and conceded to notice, he knocks them onto their knees with a lightning quick fist to the gut. The human doubles over with pain and Sans kicks them up the face. Their jaw shatters, the sheer force splitting their chin open.

They kneel in pain, gawking simultaneously in surprise and pain. Sans is suddenly several meters away. _That bastard_ , thinks Chara as they ignore their broken jaw and bloody mess dripping down from it like a leaky faucet. They get up and wipe a huge swath of crimson onto their sleeve.

"I admit," Sans says now in their face. His hands are in his hoody pockets as usual. His eye serenely calm, something extending beyond rage. Whatever it is, it's powerful. "It was hard beating on Frisk. But I don't care about you. Now, I like to fight fair and sometimes I cheat. I gotta say though, I couldn't care less about you. I'll gladly kill you as brutally as possible for all of enternity, as long as you don't give up."

Chara glances down at their soul to see three bones shoved straight through it. Looking longer they realized they extended all the way through them and into the floor behind. They are actually pinned at a forty five degree angle. The bones go through the centre of their chest. No way they are sliding out of this one. They are too angry to respond.

Chara tastes copper and throws up a torrent of red onto their sweater, already soaked with its fair share of blood. It drips onto the floor, out their back. The gentle patter of their life fluid on the floor echoing throughout the cavernous room. It is eerily warming, but also damp. They take no notice, the frustration of having to do everything again blinding their senses.

Sans chuckles deeply. "Looks like you've just been ka-boned." He winks with a shrug. _Wow, a pun? Wonderful._

Chara snorts as blood continues to drip from their mouth. "You distracted me," they rasp as Sans, not wishing to waste any more time, breaks their neck. Unable to register the fatal move, everything goes dark for Chara as they reload...again. The skeleton gets the benefit of watching the black soul explode. Another kill.

Sans has never been so serious in all their known memories. For once, he might actually win. Hah, what a joke that is. It is as bad a joke as his crappy skeleton puns. God, did they hate the puns though. They wish for the ability to rip out his throat every time he came up with some moronic response. At least that way they would feel better about themselves.

Chara reloads, ready for everything and anything. There isn't a chance in hell that the skeleton is going to kill them just as they enter the room after dying.

 _Sans still_...Chara shakes their head as they thoroughly observed his cocky unchanging pose. _Your going to get it this time. I'll stab you with this knife until you disintegrate into dust!_ The human is equally finished playing games. They are tired of dying. They want to kill and consume, not die.

Chara launches into a full blown fury, rage clouding everything. Despite this, they are focused, predicting his every move. They know how to dodge every single attack with absolute perfection.

With deadly efficiency Chara attacks the skeleton. They combine pure instinct with flawless memory and manage to avoid every obstacle Sans throws at them in his never ending onslaught of reality bending attacks. As time goes on they feel him weaken, tire out. He is being worn down, the sweat running down his brow proving this. They couldn't die though. If they did, he would be at one hundred percent when they load in. They would have to restart all over again.

Sans knows they are getting to him. He knows that Chara has memorized his attacks. It is obvious they are only getting better each time. And despite being killed hundreds of times they still stood stronger than ever. Their determination is simply too great. How is he going to win against an enemy who can never truly die? He needs a plan B. But, he did have something ready for the human if they made it far enough.

To Chara's relief the fight dies down as Sans stops his no longer endless assault. He's sweating bullets and breathing heavily, blue eye looking down in exhaustion. Air whistles as it's drawn between his teeth with every breath. Chara is in much the same condition, clothes and hair damp from non stop combat. This is the furthest they have ever gotten and they know he is at his limit.

"Welp, you got me good haven't you." He darts his magical blue eye around and sighs. "I guess I'm just gonna have to use my special attack." He pauses. "If you can survive this turn."

Chara snickers and spits a venomous comment. "Your brother couldn't even survive one, so I'm sure I can."

Sans, seems to take a moment to process the insult. He must have been debating if they really just dared to say such a savage comment. He shakes his head. "Your not going to like what's about to happen to you now. If we really were friends in the other timelines, and want to be, it would be best if you just quit and left."

Chara says nothing, but is unable to react as Sans creates a blue bone extending wall to wall. He shoves them through it with his telekinesis, the bone cutting them in half from the waste. Satisfied by the flying entrails and blood he walks up to the gory display. The few seconds of life left in the human are abruptly ended when a large bone comes down from the roof and crushes their head. Another mess, but at least they knew what it was like to be his brother.

 _Unavoidable attack with no chance of avoidance_ , thinks Sans as a growl comes from behind him. He gulps. _Damage forced upon receiver in act of anger._ He sighs. _Sorry,_ _I swear it won't happen again._ The lurking presence stops breathing on the back his neck and leaves with a snort.

Chara stomps up to all so casual Sans and screams in frustration. "Holy fuck, I'm going to kill you in the most agonizing way possible! You think your just going to stand their and kill me all day? Your wrong! I hope you burn in hell for all of time you big boned piece of shit! Stupid pun making comedian, I'll-"

Sans cuts their rant short as he makes a gesture to calm down. " Whoa kid, calm down will you." Chara actually obliges and focuses on the battle at hand. He wonders if that is really a smart thing to say. The hatred and confidence swirling in the human's red eye sends a eerie feeling through his bones. _What could he possible throw at me next?_ Wonders Chara as they grip the knife with every ounce of might they can muster. It feels great. The rage though, the rage of being killed so many times after reloading instantly is agonizing.

Sans seems to take immediate notice of this and exploits it. "Woah, you look REALLY pissed off... Heheheh... Did I getcha? Well, if you came back anyway... I guess that means we never really WERE friends, huh? Heh. Don't tell that to the other Sans-es, okay?"

Sans proceeds to launch his most hectic attack yet, the world fading away only to drop them in a field of Gaster Blasters. They fire and the air is filled with sizzling beams of magical energy. Chara cuts their way through, drifting left to right as the giant guns try to lock on. They overall miss, but several came very close to burning off a limb or two. Mistakes like those can't be allowed.

 **Flicker.**

Without warning it all disappears as darkness engulfs everything instantly. As expected, they are thrown into some kind of bullshit scenario where they are forced to dodge redundant bone attacks or whatnot. This repeats many times over as Sans does all he can to fool them without revealing something new. Everything going dark makes it difficult, but not impossible. He was clearly waiting for them to make a mistake. That didn't happen.

"Psych, psych, psych," chants Sans as the human completes several more old attacks without a single miss step. They flawlessly avoid every move with a fluid grace only a evil demon like them can manage.

Knowing the human wasn't going to make a mistake on those attacks he decides to stop wasting what precious energy he has remaining on weak attacks and move onto more advanced moves.

"You've survived well so far, but let's get on with the second part of my attack." Says Sans as he raises them into the air and turns their soul dark blue.

 _He's going to throw me against everything now isn't he?_ Chara thinks. Their immediately tossed against the floor and are forced to push themselves away from it as bones strike up from the surface. They barely miss. _Okay, that's not expected._ They grin maniacally. _Finally, a real challenge!_

The tiring skeleton now throws them against the ceiling. The human repeats their previous movement and the attack misses...and they fall back towards the ceiling? Wait, how is that even possible? There is only one answer.

Sans can manipulate the force of gravity.

Chara ponders on this greatly. Sans can somehow change the direction of gravity within a certain area. That pun making skeleton can not only manipulate space-time, but now gravity too? What bullshit! He talks about being weak when he can change the laws of physics. They struggle to contain their hatred. _Just keep cool, you have to focus. Yes, focus. Listen and be keen._

Whatever surface they are thrown at, the now changing direction of gravity will pull them down towards it. Sans may help accelerate them on their collision course with his telekinetic powers, but gravity is the main thing flinging them down onto the walls, floor or whatever. It is hard to tell when you are being flung around like some trash in the wind.

Sans continues to slam the human against the walls, floor and ceiling with swiping movements of his one arm. It hurts, it really does. But they can't give up just yet. They have to stay determined.

The rate at which they hit something increases as Sans tosses them around faster and harder. They are forced to act quicker, every attack making them to react at insane speeds that use more energy. _Come on, we almost have him._ Chara thinks with a weak smile. There is no time to savour progress, no time to rub it in his face. They have to keep going.

"I would avoid staying inside the red outlines if I were you," advises the skeleton with a wink. A square defined by a blinking red outline appears below the human. In desperation they follow his advice and jump off just as a column of bones shoots up and through the roof. They look back, a deep breath exiting their mouth. That is too close for comfort.

 **Flicker.**

Blackness consumes them, every sense going haywire.

 _Great, a new attack to avoid. I can't die now though. I'm so close. If he pulls it just out of my grasp..I-I may not be able to go on._ Chara knew Sans is going to give it his all now, do everything he can to kill them. The truth is that their determination is waning. Strong as it is, another death or two may be enough to kill them. Permanently. As long as the skeleton didn't know though, they will have him on edge.

Something conflicts inside of them. A rising presence desperate to help their friend. Frisk? _Give up, it's not worth fighting. Why are you trying so hard to kill your best friend?_

 _He's not my friend and I didn't come this far to lose. I don't care for pain, I've died so many times I couldn't care less about my physical health._ Chara responds.

 _You know you are weak. If Sans kills one or two more times you'll be done for._ The other voice argues. _Just give up so you can live._

 _Live for what?_ Chara snaps back. _I don't have friends or family. I have a soulless flower who's supposed to be my brother! That's it! And that flower is just a phony, a fake imitation of Asriel! I'm alone. I've killed all your so called "friends". There is no going back._

Chara awaits a response, but the voice doesn't respond. Frisk or not, it wasn't the most encouraging thing they have ever talked with. This was not the time to be second guessing motives.

 _Keep on moving forward,_ urges another voice. _Stay determined._

They fall back into reality and observe their surroundings for any red lines. It doesn't take long to lay eyes on the blinking square placed ohe right wall. They collapse onto their chest as the column shoots over them, crashing through the opposite wall.

 **Flicker.**

They roll to the side, avoiding an entire wall of bones that jet out from the ground.

 **Flicker.**

They jump and duck as more bones fly out from the lower wall, just below them. The next part is from the opposite direction higher up, but is easily avoided.

 **Flicker. Flicker. Flicker.**

The attacks continue, Chara fluidly sliding their way out of the danger zones as Sans keeps throwing them in a new scenario. Fearing a mistake would be made they jitter and constantly look around, keeping sure to constantly move whenever they are shoved back into the real world. The paranoia is starting to set in.

It is clear at this point that Sans isn't fairing all to well. He is getting desperate and his blue eye seems flicker weakly. It observes them with a dire stare. He sweats intensely, his smooth skull now glossy and dripping. And is it just them, or is he wobbling? He seems to be quite offset, tired and struggling to stay on his feet. Fatigue perhaps? Either way, victory is close at hand. Soon they will end the game and another soul will be theirs. The world will be erased once again.

Sans needs not to speak any words to the murderer staring through him with their great red eyes. He knows Chara is aware of his dire situation. He did have a plan B if it all fails but... Will it really work? In theory it should, but it is kind of cheating but not really... So, that meant it is perfectly acceptable and not cheating. Right? Yeah, totally "not" cheating.

The skeleton teleports to the human's right, floating above them with his hands in his hoody pockets. He grips his brother's cape harder than ever.

Chara glances up and he just gives a shrug and wink. Before them the hall grows dark, extending and stretching as reality breaks at its seams. The now thin and elongated hall leads off into a darkness where the human knows they will struggle to make it out alive.

Sans pants and huffs as he raises them with his rather weaker than usual telekinetic grip. "You'll keep consuming timelines over and over, until... Well. Hey. Take it from me, kid. someday... you gotta learn when to QUIT." With that he flings them full force down the hall, gravity making them "fall" down it. Sans appears in intervals as they fly down the never ending room. Chara is aware but doesn't bother with the mystery.

Chara gulps at the sight of the obstacle emerging from darkness of the hall. Bones are pushed out through both the ceiling and floor, creating a thin, wavy passage bordered by white.

Oh shit, they think as they gently move their speeding form through the thin passage of bones. They can feel their droopy brown hair fly behind them, their soaked clothes flailing as they ever so carefully adjust themselves in the extreme speeds.

 _The end_ , Chara thinks as the bony tunnel stops. The human flies out of the tunnel and the hall continues to thin as they progress. They have no time to celebrate as part two approaches. Large walls of bones appear from either side, left and right in a ever going pattern. _Nope, I've been mistaken_. They may have taken up only half the passage in intervals, but Chara knows it will not be easy.

The human pushes themselves of the left wall and around the first wall they go. They use their clammy hands yet again to pounce off the right one to get around that wall with ease. It works. They repeat the process for a fair amount of time, Chara knowing it is the correct way to avoid damage from the white barricades. They reach the end with sore arms, but nothing else.

As they "fall" they come across what could only be the final stretch. The hall begins to rapidly collapse in size, the edges of it being barbed in magical calcium spikes.

Chara manages to just barely squeeze through the tiny opening, but not without injury. A single bone on the rim cuts a gash into their waist. It burns and bleeds it's sticky fluid, staining the sweater. It isn't deep, they could tell. _Shouldn't hinder me too much_ , they assess. _Hopefully it wouldn't become a issue._

 _Wall!_ They realize as the hall comes to a abrupt end. Unable to do anything, Chara braces for the painful impact. It lives up to its name as they thump against it, the pain of several ribs puncturing their lungs evident.

"Oh fuck," whimpers Chara with watery eyes as they jump off in time to avoid the bones. They land on the hall floor with a weak groan. Everything comes into focus as Sans stands patiently across from them, the hall back to normal. "Not now damn it, please not now."

 _Give up_ , echoes the voice in their head.

 _Never!_ Chara retaliates as they shakily get up on their feet, coppery taste in their mouth. Blood drips from their lip. They wheeze weakly, struggling to breath. The world seems to blur and fade around them.

"I am determined!" Screams Chara as energy bursts through them. Their aura is bigger than ever, the determination giving it the property of living shadows.

Around them forms a two crescents of Gaster Blasters, immediately firing as they appear. It is clear that Chara has to stay in the blind spot of the attack. If they get touched by any one of those beams, it is game over. That is not an easy task, considering how the blind spot rotated in a clock like motion.

Chara begins to run circles, staying in close to the middle. The Gaster Blasters follow as they stack up around them, dissipating and joining the front of the line in a forever going pattern.

The sheer heat radiated by the mending of so many lasers is scorching. Being in the death circle was like sitting in a oven. They run as fast as they can, blood filling their lungs as they do. _Almost their, Almost their, Almost their._ Chants Chara in their head.

They stay determined.

Sans, lacking the energy and effort to stain the attack now stops. He dissipates the blasters and with a final fit of magical energy, lifts a tired and beaten human into the air and starts ruthlessly smashing their already weakened body against anything he can.

"Die! Die! DIE!," he cries out, panting with every word. He flings them against the wall and throws them down onto the floor, the impact sending rumbles throughout the room. The human can tell he is very weak. The impacts are barely even bone breaking. They bruise and hurt, but lack the power to cause any significant injury.

"Die you dirty brother killer. Just DIE!" He flings them around like a rag doll, his eye flickering brightly like the sun between blue and yellow. To Chara, everything is a painful blur as they are smashed repeatedly against anything in reach at ridiculous speeds.

To tired to continue using his telekinetic ability he changes to a more direct tactic. He teleports and pounces on Chara, knocking them onto the smooth tile floor. He then reels his fist back and brings it down on their face, his bony fist causing only a black eye.

Chara, too weak and disoriented to resist, takes the beating smiling. Every punch gets lighter, each bruise smaller. The hate in his eyes, that empty hope; it's wonderful. They know at that moment he is beat. He is simply too worn down to deal the damage needed to kill them.

Sans gets up and stumbles away, hands in his hoody pockets. Despite everything he manages to keep his large dimpled smile. He huffs heavily, barely managing to stay on his feet. Chara does the same, faring better. At least one lung still worked. They may have been severely bruised and cut, but that does nothing to slow them. The blood that shot up into their mouth with every exhale is refreshing. It is almost refreshing.

 _How the hell is he going to use his special attack like this?_ Chara wonders as the skeleton regains his breath. A dreadful thought crosses their mind. _What if it's a healing item or something. Oh God, please don't._

Sans, still panting, recovers enough air to finally speak. "All right. That's it. It's time for my special attack. Are you ready? Here goes nothing."

Chara waits patiently for a world ending attack or some kind of bullshit that could ruin everything they worked so hard for, but nothing happens. Confused, they awkwardly shift their malevolent eyes over the hall. _Well this is... Most unexpected. What am I not getting here?_

The truth crosses Chara's mind. The knife hangs limply at their side. "Wait, is your attack really-"

Sans cuts them off initiating plan B. He begins to explain. "Yep. That's right. It's literally nothing, and it's not going to be anything, either. Heh heh heh... Ya get it?"

"I fucking hate you," Chara says blankly, their face displaying a frown of disappointment. Like, really? What kind of person does something immature like this in a fate deciding battle of this magnitude? What a idiot. "Your one hell of a smart ass."

Sans turns their soul blue with a wave of his hand. They don't give it the least bit of attention until they realize they can't move. The human in surprise struggles weakly, but quits the hopeless task. "What the hell is this?"

Sans shrugs. "I know I can't beat you. One of your turns... you're just gonna kill me. So, uh. I've decided... it's not gonna BE your turn. Ever. I'm just gonna keep having MY turn until you give up, even if it means we have to stand here until the end of time. Capiche?" He's forced to supress a laugh as the human trembles with rage.

"Are you kidding me?" They hiss. Their is that tinge of childish whining in their tone. "Hell no! I want to kill you!"

Sans rambles on. "You'll get bored here if you haven't gotten bored already, I mean. And then you'll finally quit."

"No, I won't! Ever!" They are practically screeching at this point.

"I know your type. You're, uh, very determined, aren't you? You'll never give up, even if there's, uh... absolutely NO benefit to persevering whatsoever. If I can make that clear; no matter what, you'll just keep going. Not out of any desire for good or evil... but just because you think you can. and because you "can"... ... you "have to"."

"Whatever Sans, I know more than you ever will about this place. This world. I know why it resets and why it does what it does. G." Chara just stands, unable to move. Their red eyes are covered by the shadow of their sweaty bangs.

Sans ignores the onslaught of rude vocabulary, not bothering to take their bate. "But now, you've reached the end. There is nothing left for you now. So, uh, in my personal opinion... the most "determined" thing you can do here is to, uh, completely give up. And..." He opens his wide smile to take a yawn. Chara can't help but do the same. "Do literally anything else." With those final words he proceeds to hog his turn, initiating the waiting game. What a jackass.

Chara's eyes widen as they giggle, a evil grin spreading across their face. _I know what to do Sans. I can wait a few minutes. I doubt you can fight in your sleep._ With that they hum a tune and wait, occasionally coughing up a red mist. Humming is hard when your mouth is full of blood.

Several minutes later he is fast asleep, sockets closed. He can sleep standing up? Impressive. At least he is a easier target this way.

Chara's soul blinks back to its default colour. Making sure to take silent steps they work their way towards the snoring skeleton. They clench the knife menacingly in their hand, high above their head.

After a few smooth steps the human brings the knife down at Sans, eyes wide with the hunger for EXP. He had enough of it to give them a entire level. At level twenty, they will be unstoppable. Oh, they are so giddy!

 _No!_ Cries out a voice in Chara's head. It throws off their attack, Sans now awake and teleporting to the side. A red gash permeates his former location, fading.

 _Damn it you brat! Don't you dare ruin this for me Frisk,_ orders Chara. The pun making skeleton can't dodge much longer.

Sans shrugs. "Heh, didja really think you would be able-" He's cut off mid sentence as Chara slashes down the cold blade and cuts its way across his chest and hoody. With a groan he collapses on the ground with his hand on the bloody gash of...is that ketchup? It dribbles down the side of his lip and flows over his hand. Maybe it is blood. Who cared. He is defeated.

 _To what purpose?_ A voice in their head questions. To this Chara has no answer, nor do they care to answer. Nonetheless, it is a haunting question.

He sits wide eyed for a moment, the blue magical orb replaced by his normal white pupils. With a heavy blink his eyes open to reveal only pain. He breathes heavy as the ketchup/blood continues to flow.

"So," he says with a pause. He glances up at Chara who smiles and twirls the knife, giving the stained blade a kiss. They wanted to dance around in happiness. The relief is an ecstasy. "I guess that's it, huh?" The human nods violently.

Sans closes his eyes. It isn't a blink. They stay close. He is dying, and feeling weak his eyes are forced to close. He wants to have inner peace. To remember the good times with Frisk and the gang. He sighs. "Well, just don't say I didn't warn you."

Chara watches with menacing interest, a curiosity of sorts as Sans gets up shakily. His hand is still clasped over the wound, his other gripping a red cape that can only be his brother's at his side. After several deep breaths he gave a winking shrug, right hand stained red. "Welp, I'm going to Grillby's." With those words he closes his eyes and puts his hand over his wound once more.

Sans goes on his way, the direction of his travelling leading him back the way Chara came.

He can't help but feel he has failed all the people he loved, but at least he will see them again soon. Somewhere peaceful, with Frisk instead of this monster. Every fibre of his being felt loose, like he will unravel any second. Yet he pushes on, becoming ever more so disconnected from reality.

Chara feels nothing but joy and hunger as Sans slowly stumbles by. That is until the host they try so hard to supress came back at full force. _Wait? How? I'm in con-_. Frisk seizes control, Chara suddenly fading away as Frisk pushes their influence away. The demon struggles for control, thrashing and kicking with all its might. It would regain control any second. This has to be quick.

"Sans," cries Frisk, no longer in Chara's form. The skeleton cracks opens an eye, his pupil dilating. The human wraps their arms around him and he awkwardly does the same in return, happy he got to see the true Frisk one last time. They break apart. "I don't know how much longer I can hold it back but I just wanted to say goodbye and that we will always care for you, always believe in you."

A single tear runs down Sans cheek. He gives them a single pat on the shoulder, making his way by with a smile. He doesn't't respond, to weak to form words.

Chara takes control once more and Frisk recedes into the deepest depths their mind. Chara is filled with too much joy to care though. They won and it was over. They won! They watch him take his final steps in eager anticipation.

* * *

Sans opens his eyes and finds himself in Grillby's. With strength anew he makes his way to his stool and sits down confused. Everyone is here, none of them dead. Sans doesn't question it any further. Everyone being alive made him feel better. The place is as active as usual, no supreme there. He lays his elbows on the bar counter and blinks. Grillby, the bartender made of fire is wiping the table with a dry clothe.

"Hey Sans," comes a voice from the stool to his right. It could only belong to one person. He looks over and sees his brother in his costume and cape. _Oh my God, Papyrus. Your alive! But how..._

"Y-yeah bro. Uh, why are you here? You hate this place," he responds. He feels a warmth in his heart as he looks up at his far taller brother.

"Nyeh, heh, heh," cackles his brother. "Why because we're having good old time brother! It was your idea! Are just getting too lazy to remember now to?" He pats him on the back. A tear runs down Sans face. He doesn't bother to reply. It felt good to be loved again.

He looks back and sees all his friends. Everyone is here, every monster in the Underground giving him a big smile. There's even a little white dog in the back, black beady eyes staring unflinching.

Toriel lays a gentle hand on Sans shoulder. "Sans are you feeling all right. You look faint." Truth is, he is dying. Off course he is faint! Black spots begin to dot his vision. Everything seems wobbly.

"No, no I'm good old lady. I a-appreciate your concern though," Sans says dismissively. Toriel nods and takes a step back. "I just want you to have a good time."

In truth he is. Everyone is. It is great. He coughs and looks up to Grillby. "Hey, could I get some ketchup here." He shifts his vision to his brother. _I'm so dizzy and faint. Everything is swaying this way and that._

He looks to his left to see a small, gentle human child. Frisk! He can't help but smile at the sight of his old friend. Their cute puppy eyed look lightens him up.

"Don't worry Sans, we'll love each other forever. Nothing will ever change that." Their tiny hand places itself on his arm. Another tear. Everyone else gives their own words of comfort. The sheer amount of emotions welling inside are killing him. Metaphorically of course.

"I love you all too," Sans says. He gives the human a big smile. "Especially you and Papyrus." The human returns the smile.

He looks up with watery eyes at his brother, hoping inside that he will be together with him again. He knows this is all just a delusion, but he might as well carry on normally. No need to ruin the moment. "Papyrus, do you want anything?"

For once Sans actually felt like he could accomplish something, that he could truly be happy inside. With this final thought the world fades away and darkness takes over. He feels himself fragment, and those last words carry with him as he dissolves, happy to now finally understand.

* * *

Sans EXP flows into Chara who now in their true form goes along their way, finishing the game. They watched him turn to dust; a satisfying sight to say the least. They have beaten the last enemy.

It is time to finish this.

They kill Asgore and mash their brother into the ground as per usual. That dumb fraud of a flower's desperation irks them greatly. They proceed to finally achieve their goal and erase the game. Finally though, the interesting part happens.

They knew the truth Sans didn't. Timelines were not everything. He didn't realize this is all just a game in which they are amusements. There are people out there, beyond the game realm. They do the play throughs and create the timelines. Each one has their own unique timeline. And all who complete the Genocide provide them with a soul of Frisk. It was a roleplay o soul, that of the player.

And they have hundreds of thousands of souls. Even more than that! It isn't every timeline though. Some of the goody two shoes roleplayed Frisks refused genocide after the True Pacifist. Without the EXP from every monster in the Underground and their savage determination, Chara cannot possess their souls and reincarnate them self in their timeline. Those souls are now missing... Just gone, off the grid.

So... Where are they?


	3. Chapter 1: A Morning on the Surface

Chapter 1

A Morning on the Surface

 ***So, this is the first real chapter of the story. If you are wondering why the prologue was so long, that is because it is a significant event that will be referenced throughout the story. The prologue is better thought of as a short story/prequel.**

 ***The story starts slow, but it will only get better. Some chapters may be largely dedicated to humour, but may end on a bad note to progress the plot. Yes, this will be a long story. If you like long reads, this is for you!**

 ***For rating it, I just chose teen because the prologue is top notch worst. Only some rare exceptions in the actual story compete with it.**

 ***The story is largely focused on the relationship of Sans, Frisk and family, so no intimate romance in this fanfic. As for the shipping, they won't be intimate here either. Don't worry though, there will be ships!**

 ***Also, this is my first fan fiction so I don't know how good this will be. I doubt it will be amazing, but I hope it is at least enjoyed by people. I suck at grammar and I don't have an editor or anything, so expect mistakes. Feedback is always appreciated.**

* * *

 _Wake up Frisk, the souls of the innocent are ripe for harvesting today..._

Frisk waked up with a long stretch. A loud, slacking yawn exits their mouth as they crack open their eyes. Weird dreams had haunted them this night. Dreams of events they wished never to relive, many that they hoped never will happen. They look out their bedroom window. It's a beautiful day outside. Birds are singing. Flowers are blooming. A perfect day for a game of catch. Thankfully, it was a Saturday so no school. Yay!

They leap out of bed, smile pasted on their face. How could it not be? Ever since monsters made it to the surface everyone had been happy. The humans have needed time to adjust to their new residents and neighbours. Realizing their friendly nature and the truth in Frisk's words helped relations a lot. The truth made contact peaceful. They may have been a bit frightened, but things were getting better every day. After all, it had only been since Monday they made it up top.

 _At least the ambassador talks are over,_ thinks Frisk as they remembered the never ending political, economic and ethical debates. What a nightmare that was. For some one as young as them, they knew very little about those topics. Therefore, Asgore did all the talking. Meanwhile, they sat and acted cute. It was a very effective plan. Humans are so easily persuaded by nice things.

Now the monsters lived in their own little town near the large human city. Well, all except Mettaton. He didn't really count anyways. He lived as a famous star in one of the city's most expensive condos. They were happy their robot friend was a world famous star. Who could not love those fabulous legs? They were so hot you could fry an egg on them.

Frisk gets dressed, putting on the same old clothes. They were exactly like the clothes they wore through the Underground. Becoming so attached to the look they bought a whole closet full of the exact same set of clothes. It was apparent they lacked any style, but they couldn't have cared less. Stripes were life. All kids wore stripes.

Now dressed they exit the room and proceed down the hallway to the living room. Toriel would be making breakfast in the kitchen.

The house was designed after her old one in the ruins. In fact, many of items such as her large, soft chair were brought up from the house in there. However, Toriel was forced to make some changes to accommodate the modern lifestyle. The living room had been expanded and now had a large HD television in it. The kitchen was also made larger to incorporate more appliances on a upgraded counter space. A eight person dining table was also added. Now all their friends could come over and have a nice dinner together.

They enter the kitchen to see Toriel, their adoption mother. The goat lady was busy cooking up breakfast. It smelled of pancakes in the air. She looked back at them with a gentle smile.

"Hello my child," She said with a sweet tone. "You sure are up early today."

Frisk glance at the clock on the living room wall behind them. It reads a nearly perfect seven. It was quite sunny out already, but they did usually sleep in more. But they were too excited to sleep.

"I wasn't really tired," they replied. An awkward silence follows as Frisk took a seat at the head of the dining table. Toriel continued to make the food.

"What do you plan on doing today?" Toriel flopped a pair of golden pancakes onto the plain glass plate. She proceeded to serve them to Frisk who poured the syrup on them. Already possessing a fork they eat. The sweet softy goodness floods their mouth with enlightenment.

They swallowed. "I'll probably meet up with my friends and plan something then."

Toriel nodded as she cleaned up the house. In minutes, Frisk had finished their meal. They put the plate in the sink just as the doorbell rings.

"Oh, can you get the door for me dear." Said Toriel as she wiped off the counter with a wet rag. "I'm a little busy here."

"Of course mom," replied Frisk as they jog into the living room and took a quick peek out the window. The person at the front door was Sans. He just stood there, hands in the pockets of his blue hoody as he waited silently for someone to answer the door. He wore a giant, toothy smile only a skeleton like him could have worn.

"Toriel it's just Sans!"

"Oh," She said with a raised voice. "Come on in then!"

With that Sans entered through the back door, despite having sat at the front a second earlier. Frisk had no clue as to how he did it, but that didn't matter because it was awesome. "Hey kiddo," he said, giving the human a wink as he entered the tiled kitchen. "Good to see you too old lady."

Toriel nodded and the skeleton then turned his attention to Frisk. "Hey, want to make a quick stop at Grillby's?"

How did Grillby's make its way to the surface you may ask? Well, the owner decided to salvage what he could from the original one in the Underground and use the materials to rebuild it above. It was exactly like the one from before. It even used the same old furniture. Papyrus still hated it as much as he previously did.

"Where's Papyrus? He's usually with you."

Sans shifted his eyes. "Your not really supposed to answer a question with a question, but I'll answer anyways." He scratched his skull. "He's having cooking lessons with Undyne...Hopefully they don't burn the house down a third time. That would be very unfortunate." Sans just jinxed it. Shit.

"Yeah," agreed Frisk as they remembered their own lesson with her in the Underground. The bonding session was rather destructive. _Why did she always have to be so rough?_ They thought, knowing that Undyne would never lose her warrior spirit.

They could still remember the previous two times that the house burned down above ground too. It wasn't hard when you've only been up on it for a couple of weeks.

The first time was when they just built it. With magic and the genius mind of Alphys the house was finished in no time at all. Her little Mettaton construction bots made the job very easy. Undyne and Papyrus decided the two of them would prepare a meal in celebration of this special occasion.

The house lasted about two hours.

They were forced to stay at Asgore's mansion for the night. The lab wasn't yet finished and nobody else had enough space for them to sleep overnight. Being king and all, the humans decided to give him a place that symbolized his status. Toriel on the other hand, didn't agree to a mansion. She wanted her house like the one she had in the ruins. Everyone was happy with that.

The next day they built a second house. Papyrus came up with the great idea to cook a celebratory meal again. Everyone agreed to this despite yesterday's display.

The house lasted about two hours.

Now, you would think that the second house would be outfitted with features to prevent the same occurrence from happening twice. Well, it was.

It burned to the ground anyways.

Whatever fire prevention systems added to the house were clearly not substantial enough to handle Papyrus's and Undyne's cooking methods. As impossible as it may seem, it was very clearly possible. Nobody knew why.

"So, are we gonna go or not," persisted Sans, knocking them out of their daze. They nod and their friend grinned. "Good. Let's get the hell outta-"

Toriel slammed her fuzzy hand down on the counter in rage. "Sans! No swearing around the child! Watch your language will you?" Frisk cringes. Sans knew better, but he seemed to enjoy bugging her. No matter what they tell him, he doesn't shut up. He really liked to push his luck.

"Yeah, goat lady. I know, alright? I'm sorry." Toriel huffed and the two walked out the front, awkward silence following their every footfall. Only the clapping of footwear against the solid floor could be heard. At least she kept her cool. Their heart had skipped a beat.

Frisk breathed in a lung full of fresh air. It really was nice outside. The sun shines down on the rows of newly built houses down the road and the freshly trimmed grass of everyone's yards.

Not many monsters drive and many physically can't. So, traffic is next to nothing in what the king ever so creatively named Monster Town. Typical Asgore right there. At least humans are practically non-existent in this town. They were the one exception.

Wordlessly, Sans made his way down the lawn and begins his journey on the road. They follow. It was just routine. He was always the one ahead of them.

"Arn't you going to use a shortcut?" They asked confused. They were unable to recall a single time Sans did not use a shortcut to get somewhere. He was too lazy for that. But now... Well, now it was different. Weird.

Sans shakes his head. "Nah, it's just a short ways. We'll be there in no time. I wanted to have a bit of a walk anyways. You know, keep these bones moving."

Frisk was tempted to argue that when you were a magical skeleton exercise had no meaning. Like, he doesn't even have muscles! But they were able to keep it to themselves. No need to poke the bear. The whole why of this situation severely irked them.

"I guess," Frisk said. They continue down the paved road silently for quite some time. They can't help but notice how off Sans was behaving. He was usually way more talkative and he always made dumb puns. He seemed...upset. The way he was slumped and looking down was a obvious clue. But this wasn't the first time they noticed this.

Ever since everyone reached the surface, Sans seemed down. He was just so uncaring about the whole thing. Like it was all just some unwanted present. It worried them greatly. What could possibly be on his mind making him feel so depressed? It was never a good thing when Sans was upset.

"Hey Sans, is everything-"

"Yeah kid," he growled. "Everything is just fine. I want to think, that's it."

Frisk is taken aback by the sudden aggressiveness of their friend. _I have make him talk. I need to learn what he is hiding from me._

Frisk gave him a worried expression. "Sans, you can trust me. I'm your friend. What's-"

He gritted his teeth. "Shut it Frisk! It's none of your concern!" He took a deep breath as he faced his frightened friend. "Look, I'm sorry. There's been a lot going through my head recently and I'm really stressed out, okay?"

"Sans." They place a gentle hand on his arm. The smooth fabric of his hoody is soft and warm against their hand. "This isn't how you usually act. Tell me-"

The skeleton snapped away his arm. "Listen kid, you haven't even known me that long. When we made it to the surface we hardly spent any time together. Even in the Underground we didn't talk that much. I never even helped you. Hell, I judged you! I don't even like humans!" The last part is true. He hated humans and probably killed a few back on sentry duty. Yeah, they haven't asked him about that for good reason.

"But we're on the surface now," whined Frisk. "We broke the Barrier. We're supposed to be happy, be friends. This is the happy ending we all wanted. I may not have known you very long, but you don't have to be such a jerk about it!" They practically yelled the last part. They immediately zip their mouth shut as Sans continued on in his sad hunch.

"Oh Sans, I'm sorry. I would never mean what-"

The skeleton waved them off like an insect. "Don'tcha worry kid." He lifted his head, revealing a gigantic grin. They feel a little bit better. "I can take your words. No offense, but they aren't the best."

Frisk nervously laughed, knowing they were the worst liar in history. "I guess. I just..." They mumbled off into illegible humming.

"What is it?" Sans asked. "Don't know what to say? Well, all I have to say is that I'm happy everyone is alive and well."

"You sure don't ask for much do you?" They finally reach Grillby's. The building loomed on ahead. It seems fairly busy, but not crowded. Perfect. The welcoming lights were sure inviting.

"The reason I don't ask for much," explains Sans. "Is because I'm lazy. If you ask for a lot, it takes lots of effort to care for those things. I don't like working. I would rather sit and take a nap."

 _Well, there's Sans for you_ , thinks Frisk as Sans swung open the heavy doors, entering the wooden floored building. The tables and booths are quite empty. They spot out Lesser Dog playing poker by itself in the corner. Recently, they learned that the dog wasn't losing to itself. It had already lost. Now, it just sat their holding it's cards...doing nothing. Whatever could it mean?

They ignored it as they took a seat on the stools, the one to Sans left to be precise. Just like they did in the Underground. Just like...the old times...the times when Sans was actually happy. But that seemed like years ago. Things really have changed. And the impact it has had on the entire population of both worlds was astounding. Everyone was happy. Well, everyone but Sans it seemed.

They ignored the pressuring issue and instead put on a grateful expression. At least Sans seemed up now. This was where he came to relax, to vent out after a nap. They only went out one other time alone on the surface. That was the trip they had on Wednesday. Everybody was pretty busy and so they went out and had a good time. Simple enough. He was way happier back then, not nearly as down as he was currently. Now...Now something was wrong.

The owner of the place, Grillby, walked over to them. The main thing you should know about him is that he is made entirely of fire. He wore a vest with a white button up shirt underneath. He had on a pair of glasses that oddly enough manage to stay on, despite the fact fire is not a solid substance. It is also unclear as to how they didn't melt. Probably magic or something.

"Hey Grillby."

"Sans," started Grillby in his gruff voice. He's wiping down a glass with a rag that, of course, does not burn. "So, I guess I might as well just hand you the ketchup?"

Sans already large smile widened further. He nods. "Pretty much." He glanced over to Frisk who sat awkwardly quiet. Typical of them. They liked to act innocent and typical. It was their strong suit. Sometimes they thought if they them self were even happy. Now that was depressing. How would they be any better than Sans?

Grillby turned to face the child. "I'll say it again Frisk, good job on freeing all of us. You are a truly selfless person. We're finally free."

Frisk stared into his glasses and they swear he was wearing a expression of gratitude. They do the same. "I know. Now we can all live happily ever after." What Frisk didn't mention was the horrors they had to go through to get that ending. Mainly Asriel, who induced them with severe PTSD memories of the flower or broke their heart after fading away in his Kid Asriel form.

Grillby laughed deeply. "Well, I have to admit that Frisky must have had quite the adventure down in the Underground. After all, you were the only human there."

"It..." They paused to consider their words. They wanted to say an fun yet agonizingly painful experience, but they didn't want to get Sans, Grillby or anyone for that matter, in on the whole Flowey/Asriel incident. It sucked doing it twice. Especially the first. The feeling of being torn to bloody pieces crawled through their skin from time to time. Usually it was in a nightmare, the evil flower pushing his vines through their gut and slowly pulling him apart as they moved outwards, ever so slowly expanding the wound and tearing apart their gentle organs. They knew they were scarred for life, but it was best no one knew. "Was not easy."

"I'm sure it wasn't kiddo," grumbled Sans. The bartender gave a brief nod of approval. Frisk was glad people understood what they went through to free everyone, even if they left out a large portion of the truth. At least they cared in return. That was what truly mattered.

"Well," began Grillby. "What do you want Frisk? I'm sure you don't need a menu."

Frisk shook their head, brown bangs whipping back and forth. "I'm good. I just ate, but a drink would be nice." They point to one of the various alcoholic beverages on the wall shelf behind the counter. The only reason for this was to see their reaction.

The two monsters with the human exchange a silent look, but the skeleton just shrugs with a clear expression of "whatever". If it was legitimate, the owner couldn't tell. Sans was a bad influence most of the time, but was it really THIS bad? He lightly notions Grillby to explain. He awkwardly faced the child, trying to resist their innocence.

"Listen, I, uh...can let you slip on letting you come in here underage. It's a monster bar and human rules don't apply. Also, your kind of our VIP. How could I deny someone like you entry? I'm sure you've been through worse in the Underground than a pub."

"You have no idea," said Frisk. They keep wearing the puppy eyed expression knowing it was their best defence. So innocent, no one could resist.

"Anyways," continued Grillby. "I think the human's guidelines for drinking are quite adequate. So, no." The human frowned ever so slightly.

He gave the human what could have been a squint. His flames behind the glasses seem to compress. "How old are you anyways? You look like your..." He doesn't finish. Instead, he remained quiet, unable to decide on a age.

"Yeah Grillby," says Sans with a wise smirk. "Nobody really knows because...the Underground kinda throws you off, ya know? I think the number is something like eleven or thirteen. I would put my money on twelve, but I doubt we will ever really have a real answer. I can't do the alphabet."

The fiery man nearly jumped back in surprise. "Eleven to thirteen? Hell no Frisk, I'm not-"

Grillby is cut off when Sans thumped an open hand down onto the wooden counter. "Listen kiddo, I'll let you swear. And yes, we will occasionally do something stupid. But let you get drunk?" He shook his head and half heartedly laughed as a thought of Toriel kicking the crap out of him crossed his mind. "Toriel would kill me. She already thinks I'm a bad influence. Then again I make bad jokes, huh?"

Grillby sparked an awkward crackle as he waited for Sans to finish his lecture. "Uhhhh..." Is all he could manage to speak.

"Now," said Sans. "When you become a adult...or close to. I guess we'll never know exactly when." He paused. "Anyways, you can drink yourself silly and pass out on the floor for all I care. But if you drive your gonna have a bad time."

"What," the human asked, the last part jerking them to attention.

 _Oh shit_ , comes a voice from inside their head. _Your going to have a bad time!_ It bursts out into a fit of giggles before receding. Frisk was used to its unnecessary commentary despite being absolutely clueless about it. At least it could be forgotten about.

He carried on like nothing happened. Not like he could read their mine. "I'm not saying you should do that, but I would highly advise against it." He gave his classic shrug. "But hey, it's your life. Do whatever you want...within limits of course."

Frisk couldn't help but laugh. They cover their mouth in a fit of their own giggles. Sans gave a dull smirk, getting it. Grillby just stared confused.

"Your all so stupid," Frisk giggles. "He any told you about how much you overreact? All you had to say was no and you could have avoided the entire lecture."

Grillby released a rough humph as the skeleton rolled his eyes. The human was surprised they even believed them for a second. In the end, monsters still knew very little about the behaviour of humans.

"Its not like I said anything," mumbled Grillby being a poor sport. Sans wasn't impressed by this, but Frisk never did expect everyone understand. To their surprise the bartender smiles. "Sans, you better watch your back. The human is learning that you take everything too seriously."

"Calling my lectures a waste of time, huh kid?" He scratched his skull. "I guess I kind if do, but I'm just trying to save my hide from your over protective mother. The last thing I need is her finding you with a serious hangover."

Grillby pushed an empty glass at the human. It slid silently against the counter into their small hand. "Here. Use this if you want a drink. I finally threw away that crappy jukebox and got a water dispenser." Frisk looked to where the old machine would have been to see a large black water dispenser in its place. It was brand new.

"I would get it myself..." said Grillby.

"But you don't touch the stuff," finished Frisk.

"I'm made of fire so it's quite obvious isn't it?" With that he left to fetch Sans his ketchup from the kitchen.

They wait in silence and in several moments Grillby is back with ketchup in hand. He slammed the bottle down in front of the lazy skeleton and with a quick thanks left Sans to his "meal".

Sans proceeded to squirt a large volume of the viscous fluid down his throat. Frisk watched in disgust as he wiped what didn't make in his mouth onto his sleeve. Half the bottle is already gone. What the fuck? He then proceeded to comb his non-existent hair for no particular reason whatsoever.

Frisk remembered this and gave him a dumb look, their hand on their cheek in a bored fashion. "Sans. Why?"

"I dunno. I guess it's just a habit or something. What's it to you?" Great, he was all moody again. What was Sans's problem? He took another swig from the ketchup bottle.

Frisk placed a gentle hand on his arm. The skeleton nearly coughed up his "meal" in surprise. He looks at them with wide sockets as he pulled his arm out of their soft clasp. "Don't touch me, alright? I don't like it. It's not helping." He sighed and lowered his head.

With a aching feeling the human sighed. It was painful. The feeling of hopelessness was polluting their entire form. It was horrible. No matter what they did, Sans just never would be entirely happy. The dumb comedian was just a mask, a shell that concealed his true self. One that was corrupt with something sorrowful. _Come on Sans_ , thinks Frisk as they stare into his sulking expression. _I can't stand you being like this._

 _I love seeing him like this. He deserves every bit of pain he receives_ , whispered the voice in their head.

Frisk made sure to keep their hands on their lap as they attempt to get him to talk. It had to be done. They can't let him live the rest of his life like this. If only he would understand it hurts them just as much as it hurts him. "Sans, come on. I can help you. It can be our secret."

He clearly displayed a look of confusion. "Frisk, are you a girl? Because that is an awfully-"

"Maybe," said Frisk with a shrug. "Only I know the answer to that. Maybe I'm actually a guy."

 _I wish you would just fricking tell us_ , thinks Sans.

Sans sighed before taking one last drink from the bottle. He got off the stool and inserted his hands into his hoody pockets as usual. Nothing is said for a long while. He just stands their with his back to them, staring out into the outside world through the windows in deep thought. "Fine Frisk. Maybe later," he admits. The human feels their determination stabilize as hope soared inside them. "We need to pick up Papyrus though. Make sure the house is okay."

Frisk left the stool as Sans spared them a brief glance. "You promise, right?" They smile.

"Kid, your making me do everything I don't want to do today and I'm not very appreciative of it." He sighed. "You know I don't like promises..." He trailed off and visibly shivered. He tightens his hoody. "But I will. Just for you kiddo. I guess you deserve to know. You helped us a lot, me included."

"Thank you Sans!" Frisk in a burst of emotion and expression enveloped the big boned skeleton in a wide hug. Warmth from the resulting rushed through the human as their beating heart warmed the skeleton's cold bones.

Sans pushed them away and Frisk stared up at them with encouragement and care. They loved him. He was their friend and they were going to do everything they possibly could to help him. Sometimes they wondered if they valued his soul above their own.

"Kid," Sans says as he avoided the awkward stares better described as affectionate stares, of the entire pub. "I know you can't help but hug every random stranger you come by. But we are in public and I would like it if you could restrain yourself from touching me, okay?"

Frisk, so used to doing things like this in the Underground, doesn't even realize what they did until it is too late. They weakly chuckle and their face instantly becomes a shade of tomato red. "Sorry, I-I just got a little carried away." Sans nods, accepting the apology. It was expected. Being pacifist did have its disadvantages, but it was better than genocide. A lot better. Although, it did lead to a lot of awkward moments, especially on the surface.

 _Or so you think_ , argues the voice in their head.

"Let's go get my brother," he said walking off to the doors, Frisk following closely behind. What else were they to so? It was time to start the long trip to Undyne's and Alphys's house. The cooking would be happening there because it was the only place they were even allowed to cook. Toriel never let them cook at her house without strict supervision on special occasions anyways. It was the main reason the special occasion meal the first two times was going to be cooked by Undyne and Papyrus at the former Royal Guard captain's own house. It would then brought to Toriel's house. Easy. The plus side was that goat mom had a meal to prepared anyways, even if the house burned down. Which it did. Twice. Hopefully there will not be a third time.

"Sans!" Called Grillby. "The ketchup will cost three gold!"

"Put it on my tab!" Replies Sans as he walks on, not giving a shit.

"But it's only three gold, why don't you just pay it!" Complained the owner as he raised his hands in a WTF manner. Frisk knew Grillby was getting "hot-headed". _I just made a pun_ , thinks Frisk worryingly realizing what they just did. _Sans must really be rubbing off on me. Maybe he isn't the best influence._

"Nah, I like it on my tab better."

"Then why don't you pay your damn tab!" Yelled Grillby as he slammed his hands down on the counter. Nobody is paying the least bit of attention, this being one of the common spectacles at the pub.

It was too late though. He sighed a puff of smoke as the skeleton exited the pub followed by a oblivious child who gives a friendly wave of goodbye. Sans knew he never paid for a meal since he first entered the place. Frustrating as it was, the skeleton visited the place non-stop and constantly consumed ketchup. It has been done so much over an extended period of time that his tab now composed of tens of thousands of gold. He had the exact amount written somewhere. He would have to add another three to it. Regardless, Sans never paid and knowing that he one day would didn't make having a bad time to get the money worth it.

"The day Sans pays his tab will literally be the day I die," mumbled Grillby as he polished one of his various glass cups.


	4. Chapter 2: Sans Jinxed It

Chapter 2

Sans Jinxed It

 ***This took a lot of time to finish and I'm sure there are some grammar mistakes and whatnot in this chapter considering how painfully long it took to edit this. I apologize for these mistakes, but I must make haste before school starts up again if I'm to finish this. If not, this will take forever to finish. The next chapter will be better, but will take longer to make.**

* * *

The house was burned to the ground.

 _Damn it Sans_ , thought Frisk in frustration. _You just had to jinx it, didn't you?_ They glared at him, but he paid them no attention.

Sans rubbed his face and groaned. "Why am I not surprised?"

Frisk stared blankly at the burned remains of the used-to-be home. It reeked a smoky smell as a big, black cloud rised into the sky above the charred pile of material. At least nothing else is burned by it. Now they understood why there were no neighbors.

The human attempted to lighten the mood. "Is the food at least edible yet?"

"No," admitted Sans. "He's making progress though. Hope it will be someday. Probably never though"

 _Harsh_ , thought Frisk, not bothering to continue the topic.

A rouge breeze lifted some ash from the soot covered grass. It has become progressively hotter today as the sun continued to rise. There weren't even clouds to block out the sun's burning rays. Even worse, the temperature is only rising. It wouldn't be long until a sun burn appeared on the back of their neck.

"Where are they?" Frisk knew they were safe, but they weren't thrilled about sitting outside in this scorching, unbearable temperature as they waited for them to reveal themselves.

"Probably in the lab down below. The fire couldn't have reached it." His eyes thinned. "Alphys is smart to have it away from the kitchen." He stared into the wreckage, seemingly content with the unsurprising sight before him. Frisk does the same, not knowing what else they could possibly do. Like their flimsy body could move those huge beams of blackened wood.

"So Sans, are we just going to wait or what? Like, should we do something?" They shared a look, waiting for a reply.

Sans scratched his head. "I think we should..." He trailed off into thought for a brief second before he continued. They knew it was faked. Sans never had to think. He just knew.

"Do absolutely nothing while standing here. I'm too lazy to actively walk across this."

Frisk eyes widened. Is he really that lazy? "Are you serious?" They grab his arm and playfully tugged on it. "Come on, I don't want to stand in the sun for an hour."

"Stop touching me!" He shaked them off and released a loud huff. The human laughed and he rolled his eyes, his annoyance clearly pleasing the child. Sans placed his hands in their assigned pockets and waits.

"Do they even know we're here?"

"Yeah," said Sans. "I phoned them earlier. They knew I'd be here around this time. And I am. So I plan on sitting here and waiting them."

So they waited. It is a very boring and unsatisfactory wait at that. This is clearly something the skeleton liked to do. The human did not like this though. Things were quite boring for them whereas Sans seemed to have the time of his life. What he saw in doing nothing is beyond them.

Finally, who-knows-how-many-minutes-later their friends who were supposed to meet them far earlier than this emerged from the ruined house. The one thing their friends had in common was the feeling of nervousness. Well, two in three did. They weren't very excited to see Sans if anything. He wasn't angry though, so that is a good thing. He was leaning more towards disappointed at the moment. That could be bad, but at least it wasn't as bad as him being angry. He is... creepy when was angry.

The first to come, and the one who is least worried, if at all is Papyrus. Or the Great Papyrus. Whichever or. The last remaining Royal Guardsman wore his well cared for "battle body" outfit. His red scarf wrapped around his neck remained unmoving in the fresh still weather of the coming noon. It's draped along the back of his white torso piece like a cape. His golden trimmed gloves are a bright red, matching his long red boots. He's also wearing a pair of blue briefs, fastened with a golden belt.

"NYEH HEH HEH!," Papyrus cackled out of his oblong skull and long slacking jaw as the other two follow behind, lacking the well known innocence of Papyrus. "HELLO BROTHER AND HUMAN, IT IS ABOUT TIME YOU ARRIVED! DO YOU WISH TO TRY MY MASTERFULLY CRAFTED SPAGHETTI! IT'S THE BEST BATCH I'VE MADE UP HERE YET!" He pulled out a plate of the substance so burnt and deformed it can only be described as wretched and disgusting.

Frisk feels the vomit fleck the back of their throat as they force it down, the burnt smell of decay too much to take in. Despite this, they keep a smile so Papyrus wouldn't get upset. That would be worse than Sans when he was angry.

He shoved it right under his brothers face. God forbid anyone eat it, it would probably eat you instead.

Frisk tried their best not to throw up and cocked their head at Sans. The trembling of his face made it clear he was doing his best not to cringe or show any sign of disgust. Papyrus was giving him his innocent smile, which showed just how oblivious he is to how others view his cooking. He tended to be rather self-centered and completely oblivious to those kind of things. That wasn't to say he couldn't be smart at times.

Frisk remembered how wacky it was to meet Papyrus and his brother Sans. Not only was it hilarious watching them annoy each other, but the puzzles were fun. The skeleton had quite the obsession with them. Sans said that his brother needed some moral support, needed the confidence. At that time, despite bragging about his popularity and being great, he really wasn't either of those. It was kind of sad. So, with the help of Sans they managed to give him some good encouragement and confidence. They ended up being very good friends, despite the failure of a date and the whole capturing a human incident. Papyrus helped them solve various puzzles and even sidetracked Undyne with false information back when she hunted them in Waterfall...Well, not really, but he tried! It was clear they were best friends forever, Papyrus even admitting they are very great themselves. That meant a lot coming from someone as egotistical as him. Frisk was happy to support him however possible, accepting him for who he was.

It was also clear over the duration of their travels in the Underground that Sans was quite protective of him, if not overprotective. The lazy bones tried very hard to protect his brother's innocence. The idea of what would happen to someone who hurt his precious brother is beyond their imagination. Who could possibly hurt him anyways? He was by no means a fighter, his trainer unable to make him a warrior. Like she said, "He would be shred to little smiling pieces." That's not to say he was not tough. Undyne admitted his strength was quite exceptional and they faced this power head on in Snowdin, taking in a first hand experience of his attacks. They were kind of hard to dodge, but he just wanted to play gentle and capture them. Heck, Papyrus didn't even want to fight and was extremely reluctant during the conflict to harm them. Makes you wonder how powerful he really was. It just goes to show that he was the nicest guy around, one that wouldn't hurt a fly. Nobody could ever attack someone as harmless as him.

"Nah, I'm good right now bro. Maybe later, k?" He gave Papyrus his widest smile, the putrid smell of spaghetti infiltrating his nose which created a horrible sensation of burning. The pain was real.

"SURE THING! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, SHALL FEED EVERYONE MY DELECTABLE MEAL LATER TODAY FOR ALL TO ENJOY." Sans nodded on, as does Frisk, who knew it was just the right thing to do.

The next person who made their appearance is the redheaded fish warrior Undyne, the former Captain of the Royal Guard's long hair travelling down the length of her back in a ponytail. Her skin was made entirely of blue scales, these scales not the least bit lustrous. They refused to shine or sparkle the slightest amount in the sunshine. She wore a black tank top and a pair of tight jeans. Red and blue fins protruded from the side of her head. She had a eyepatch over her left eye for reasons unknown, the other eye being brightly yellow, a colour matching her fearsome, pointy teeth. Her bright red boots matched the pair Papyrus was wearing, the same red as her eye shadow. Back in the Underground she used to clomp around in a suit of dark armor, and often wielded a blue magical spear of energy that could duplicate itself and turn the human's soul green, putting them in a defensive position. The spear that had been tossed at them countless times was thankfully only used during her rare training exercises. She was very rough and violent at times, but was kind and caring of her friends, Alphys especially. They had a thing going for them.

She had retired from her warrior life. Seeing no need for violence in a peaceful world, Asgore and Undyne had agreed to disbanded the Royal Guard... Kind of; Papyrus was still part of it, now the only member. He did various helpful activities now, something that suited him more than fighting. It was a bit sad considering he was oblivious to the fact it only existed for him alone. But he was happy, so nothing else mattered.

"About time you showed up," she grumbled, striding up behind Papyrus.

"I like to take my time," Sans replied with a wide grin. "Is that really such a big deal?"

"No..." She trailed off into nothing, the human aware she wouldn't want to put up with Sans crap.

"YES," argued Papyrus. "I THINK IT IS A BIG DEAL. IT IS A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF MY BROTHER'S LAZINESS!"

"Paps," said Sans. "Not now please. I was just spending some time with Frisk over here. Got my fill at Grillby's. Have to eat bro." The human nodded enthusiastically. Best to act cheerful. The last thing they needed was for everyone to become involved in this crisis.

Undyne shook her head. "Toriel may actually be right about you Sans. Should you honestly even be let near them?"

He chuckled. "Heh, I'm just filling my role of good ol' uncle Sans here. I'm the relative everyone loves, heh."

Before the conservation could progress any further, the final member of the three, a large, yellow reptilian with a a lab coat and glasses resembling a dinosaur made her way into view with small steps. She hunched over, as she nervously tapped her pointer fingers together. It was Alphys, the anime loving Royal Scientist herself. She had come a long way, Frisk proud of helping her overcome her past sins committed in the True Labs on the bodies of monsters. It would have been a great achievement if it had worked, but the determination induced was just too much for their bodies to handle. The foreign substance ended up melting the monsters into malformed, singular beings coined amalgamates. Horrible as it was, they now lived in peace with their families. Now relieved of this burden and with people like Undyne and them self helping her, her anxiety and anti-social behaviors have been heavily reduced. Although, she still got nervous at times. This was one of those times.

"H-hey Sans and hello F-frisk," She stuttered, sweating. "It's n-nice to see you."

 _She_ _knows n_ _o matter what she says, Sans will still want answers_ , Frisk thinks. They doubted he would do anything about it anyways.

Sans gestured a arm at what remained of the building. "How? Just how?"

"OH," Interrupted Papyrus in excitement. "HOW IS MY AMAZING CAR?"

"Wait, what?" Sans said confused. Frisk rolled their eyes and the skeleton looked and laid his eyes upon a perfectly fine, expensive red sports car sitting on the drive way untouched.

"Oh, that car."

"WELL, YOU NO DOUBT WONDER HOW I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS MANAGED TO ACCOMPLISH SUCH A FEAT! I SHOULD SAY MAGIC IS QUITE THE TOOL. I USED IT TO CREATE A TEMPORARY SHIELD SO IT COULD NOT BE SCARRED BY THE FLAMES! SMART, AM I NOT?"

"Uhhhh... genius bro," said Sans with a awkward nod. "Genius."

Everybody agreed with him, not wanting to damage his character or self esteem. The truth was that he could use magic pretty well. He just couldn't fight with it.

"So how did this happen?" Questioned Frisk, well aware of the disaster behind them.

Undyne and Alphys exchanged a glance before facing them. They seemed to read each others minds for a moment. Frisk just closed their eyes and absorbed the surroundings. Besides the smoky ruins, everything seemed fine.

"Well," said the scientist. "It was technically i-impossible, but it happened a-anyways."

Sans groaned. He must want answers pretty bad. Then again, he could be doing "more productive things" right now, such as napping or drinking ketchup.

"That doesn't make any sense," he responded bluntly, agitation grinding at his tone like gravel. "Can you please just explain it, cause I'm getting real bored of this. I may just fall asleep."

"Sheesh, fine." Grumbled Undyne. "Calm down."

"HMMMMMMM," hummed Papyrus exponentially louder than it had to be. His eye sockets narrow. "IT'S NOT OFTEN YOUR A GRUMPY BONES SANS! YOU WORRY ME SOMETIMES!"

"I'm fine," he said, struggling to rid the anger and irritation from his face. "Just feeling a bit irritated, ya know. The house burning down again, emphasis on again, isn't the highlight of my day, k?"

Frisk looked up worried, but Sans managed to catch it and twitched a true smile. An acknowledgement that he would keep his promise. They looked down and realized they should stop their friends from probing his problems, whatever they may be.

"He's fine guys," dismissed Frisk with an exaggerated hand motion. "We had fun. I think it is just the fact you have destroyed the house...again."

Undyne nodded furiously. "Yeah punk, I think your right on this one. We really are frustrating aren't we. I hate it when crap-"

Sans was up in her face in the blink of an eye, teleporting up close and personal with empty sockets. He was so close that she could feel his chilling breath tingle her scales. Undyne reeled back in surprise as Sans whispered; "Don't you dare swear near my brother ever again, or your gonna regret it big time. Got it?"

Undyne is actually scared, like, wow. She's sweating bullets, eyes struggling to encompass the emptiness of his eye sockets. "I-I understand. I p - promise it won't happen again. Please... j-just, stop that!" Sans obeyed, backing up, his tiny white pupils returning in a instant. "Why do you only scold me for it," she grumbled afterwards.

"See, was that really so hard? You know I would never kill you."

"That isn't to say you wouldn't hurt me," argued Undyne as she stomped her foot into the ground.

"Heh, your not serious are you? Your a warrior. You can take a little punishment, can't you? I'll go easy on you."

That look was something Frisk was thoroughly terrorized by. This was what they feared about him. That emotionless look, the creepy stare, and dead serious tone. They hated it, wasn't the Sans they wanted to see.

It was the Sans of their nightmares.

Who was he really? It was question that looped endlessly in their head, like a disk that constantly spun. Hopefully they would receive answers today...but what about the nightmares? Are they important? They would have to think on it.

With things back to normal and Papyrus completely oblivious because of his excessive pride, the three could begin to tell their story.

"Well," began Undyne. "We were testing a new ingredient in our cooking lessons while Alphys watched."

"I-I was taking, uh, notes on the substance," interjected the scientist. "But it reacted rather violently. I didn't expect it to b-be so powerful. My fire extinguishing systems were to weak to c-contain the resulting flames." She weakly laughs. "I messed up big time."

Sans raised an eyelid. "What food item could possibly cause so much destruction as to level an entire house? Determination?"

"Temmie Flakes," all three admitted in sync.

Sans eye twitched and Frisk stared blankly. Nobody says anything as they struggle to understand such an abstract concept. Frisk just really doesn't want to know.

"Aren't they just torn up pieces of construction paper?" Frisk asked, the memories of Temmie village returning. It was fun, if not strangest experience in their life.

"Yes," admitted Alphys with a weak nod.

"Then how-"

"I honestly don't have a clue."

More awkward silence.

Sans laid his small white pupils upon Papyrus. "Hey Paps, where did you even get these... Temmie Flakes in the first place and why add torn up construction paper to your cooking?"

"WHY, BECAUSE THEY ARE TEMMIELICIOUS OF COURSE! I JUST HAD TO MAKE A PUN, ESPECIALLY ONE ABOUT TEMMIE!" Replied his brother.

"They don't even taste good bro, it's, like, eating dandruff or something." He caught Undyne role her eyes and he gave her a empty look that immediately made her look away. Overreacting much. Heh, She's always so alert.

"IT'S NOT LIKE YOU HAVE ANY TASTE! ALL YOU DO IS CHUG KETCHUP BOTTLES. YOU DON'T EVEN EAT YOUR BURGER HALF THE TIME AT GRILLBY'S! HOW CAN YOU HAVE ANY WORD ON MY COOKING!" It was clear that he was irritated by his brother's distaste for Temmie Flakes, but Sans could take only so much.

"Bro, can you just answer the question? Please."

Papyrus jaw dropped down in what was a happy expression. "Let's just say a little friend helped."

Frisk felt a shiver as the memories of the flower, Flowey, ensnaring their friends come flooding back. Their breath wavered, but only for a moment. In seconds, it was lost in the air. Nobody took notice. _I've gone through way to much_. They had given up asking why them of all people long ago.

They gasp, eyes widening in surprise as they look forward to see a Temmie trot up in... whatever they wear. It was like some blue sweater or something. Then there's the lush locks of black hair and double ears, a set of human and cat. It was like a white cat, kind of, that could never sit still.

 _IT'S SO CUTE!_ Thought Frisk in uncontrollable excitement. They love Temmie very much. Very. They were one of the best monsters they encountered in the Underground. Ah, the good times. Now they were stuck up here with a grumpy Sans. Not really fun.

 _Uhhhh_ , Sans mind was blank, unable to respond.

"h0i, my names Temmie," it said, vibrating like a car engine. "Tem b very helpfel, VERY! gud cook Tem is. 0h, Tem LUV Temmie Flakes. taste soooo GUD!" Its face was all scrunched up as if the thought were simply too much to bear.

"What have I-" began Sans, cut off by Temmie who screams WAAAAAAAAA for no particular reason. He takes a deep breath "Got myself into."

"FUN TIMES! " Cheered on Papyrus.

"Yeah." Frisk gave him a high five as Sans, Undyne, and Alphys are left standing, unable to tear their eyes sway from the spectacle in front of them.

"TEMMIE FLAKES! SO HUNGR!"

Frisk warily watches Sans silently brood. They wanted to help them and now they were only making things worse for him. Well this sure as hell backfired, now did it? Perhaps it will get better.

"NYEHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Cackled Papyrus, playing along.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

"NGAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Alphys also joins in, shrieking like this was her favorite anime.

Never mind. Things were definitely going to become worse.

Frisk doesn't join. For one, that would give Sans a bad impression of them. That was the last thing they needed in this friendship. Even less trust. Second, they hated yelling. Normally, they talked rather quietly. They sure could yell though, but it would be unnecessary.

"MY EARS ARE BLEEDING," cried Sans.

"BUT BROTHER, YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE EARS!"

"I KNOW! IT MUST BE PRETTY LOUD THEN, HUH?"

"WHY ARE WE ALL SCREAMING!" Undyne screamed herself, bringing up a good point that may have been overlooked.

"I DON'T KNOW!" Replied Sans.

Frisk checked the situation, clicking an ACT button followed by the familiar check option only visible to them, the one of four buttons appearing whenever they called it. Just one of many powers granted by Determination. It was pretty useful. Like when you wanted to know the temperature. Okay, it's not really useful but it was still cool.

The black dialogue box types out a sentence in white letters reading, "All wild life has fled the premises."

Frisk rubs their head, hand trailing through their thick brown hair. A throbbing pain echoes like a clanging church bell through their mind. _My head hurts_. Frisk knew why too. It was the ACT button. For some reason it gave them a serious migraine when used on the surface.

 _Knowledge is a dangerous thing_ , said the voice in their head.

"We should probably build the house now and not waste our time screaming. It's not exactly helping," Frisk said ignoring the throbbing pain in their skull.

To the relief of everyone, the chorus of pointless screaming ends. They all home their gaze in on the child, the word of wisdom among them. What would they do without them?

The quiet surroundings now return. Everyone definitely had a sore throat now. This wasn't the first time things got out of hand. A perfect example was at the movie theater... it didn't go all so well. That was a nightmare. The memory almost makes them blush. _Ugh, it was so_ _embarrassing. My head still aches though._ _Wish it would stop..._

"Frisk is right, you need a new house and I don't want to really stand here all day." Sans said, still dumbfounded at the sheer stupidity of situation.

"Yeah Frisk," agreed Undyne as she stomped down on a burnt cross beam, breaking it in two. "It will be a great training exercise! You can help us!"

Frisk pushed out their hands and shook their head. "I'm not really good at that sort of thing." A nervous laugh dripped weakly from their mouth as they lower their head, bangs creating a shadow over their eyes. _Please don't make me_ , they prayed.

"You'll do just fine, I-I'm, uh, sure." Alphys

"Does that mean I can go home?" Asked Sans, secretly hoping they would agree.

"No!"

 _Oh well, so much for that idea_ _._ He crossed his arms. "Fine, but I'm being supervisor again."

Papyrus was getting cranky. "SANS! WHY MUST WE DO ALL THE WORK? ALL YOU DO IS LAY THEIR AND DO ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! WE WOULD APPRECIATE IT IF YOU COULD HELP US FOR ONCE."

"Because I don't want to," he said like it was a irrefutable argument. He beckoned on Frisk. "Hey kiddo, can I barrow your phone for a sec."

They obliged and dig through their pockets, their hand moving along its smooth, cold surface. With a slow nod they pull it out of their pocket and place it in Sans' bony hands.

"Thanks." With one hand in his hoody, he used the other to tap the touch screen. Dialing up Dimensional Box A, a lawn chair complete with a pink umbrella appears, a soft drink already in the cup holder.

"Here ya go." Sans passed the phone back to Frisk who struggles to believe that he snuck an entire r and r kit into their dimensional box. _I wish he would get his own phone_. _I don't even want to know how he got his hands on it or broke through my security._

Equipping a pair of shades, he laid across it and stretched, everyone else but the Temmie staring dumbly at him. The extents to which Sans went to be comfortable and avoid work was often astonishing. Nobody said anything as he sat in the cool shade of his umbrella.

"Wow," said Undyne, crossing her arms. "Just wow. I'm very disappointed in you Sans."

Alphys nodded reluctantly. "Y-yeah. You should do something p-physical to help this go faster."

"Nah," he dismissed the idea with the wave of a hand.

Papyrus stomped the ground, wincing in frustration. "SANS! THIS IS WORSE THAN THE TIME YOU BROUGHT YOUR COUCH TO THE MOVIE THEATER! IT WAS FUN, UNTIL YOU RUINED EVERYTHING!" He stopped and clacked his jaw. He was left humming.

"Bro, that movie was boring. Like, really boring."

"YOU FIND EVERYTHING BORING!"

"No," he says taking a sip from his drink. "That's a lie."

"WELL, WHAT DO YOU FIND INTERESTING THEN?"

"Nothing."

"BUT THAT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE!"

"Exactly."

Undyne gripped Papyrus's shoulder in her hand. "Just give up. You're never going to convince him to move and there's no way I'm so much as touching him."

"FINE, BUT SOMEDAY, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL GET YOU TO DO SOMETHING!"

Nobody argued any further and with the problem settled they could finally get to work on the house. Sans is determined to sit and do nothing, so it was best to ignore him.

Temmie trots up to Frisk, black hair bobbing in the noontime sun. "Hooman, can Tem barro fone? Be very happy, VERY!"

Frisk, unable to resist the cute temptations of the monster, happily placed the phone on the ground in front of Temmie. What's the worst that could happen? So what the phone gets a bit dirty. Oh well.

Once the phone is placed they made sure not to get too close to it because Temmies are part cat, the one and only thing they were allergic to. Horrible allergic reactions was the last thing they needed in this scorching weather.

"Thank hooman. Now Tem call all fweinds to give much help," it said as it punched in the number to the Temmie hotline or whatever by slamming its face down on the phone repeatedly, somehow dialing the correct number anyways. Or so Tem thought. Nobody honestly knew.

"Oh no," said Sans with his hands on the sides of his head. "Frisk, what have you done!'

"I don't know," they replied making the cutest face they possibly could, slightly watering their eyes. "I was just trying to help."

 _Well shit. Now he's going to be mad at me and that is never a good thing. How does Papyrus manage to make everyone so happy when I can't even make my own friends happy. I'm a failure. Why did I do any of this?_ Frisk feels the tendrils of despair wrap themselves around them. The cold comfort is painful.

They shake it out of them. _No Frisk, stop acting so depressed. Your better than this. You made lots of friends in the Underground and many are living happy lives back in town. But then... why is Sans so upset. Gah, this is so FRUSTRATING!_

"Temmie is worst help," Undyne added snidely, using every ounce of her warrior training not to fall pray to the human's innocent looks. She knows it's a fake. But still... The human is staring right at them. _AAAAAAHHHHHH! SO HARD TO RESIST!_ Undyne now understood why Toriel was the only one able to defeat the human's puppy eyed stare. Her parenting methods far exceeded her fighting capabilities.

"I'M ON FRISK'S SIDE THIS TIME!" Said Papyrus. He crossed his arms and looked away, slightly peeking over her shoulder. "I LIKE TEMMIE!"

Temmie nodded, knowing this is as an established fact. "Papyrus so nice. Dont wurry. Freinds are coming. Will give Papyrus lot halp."

"Frisk, can you load your Save File so you can stop this from happening?" Sans whispered, hoping the child will understand his position.

 _Is he really that desperate to escape this situation? What does have against Temmie?_

Frisk, the cute look now gone lightly shook their head. "Sans, you know I can't do that. If I actively reset we would end up back at the beginning. We can't let that happen, not after trying so hard to achieve this."

"Your right kiddo, what am I even thinking? Just keep them away from me, alright?" Sans was warily observing the monster.

"I'll try, but no guarantees," replied Frisk who hoped they wouldn't have to intervene.

The group waited for the Temmies to arrive. In reality, everyone just wanted the house built. Sitting in this heat is not a enjoyable use of time.

Several minutes after the call a group of Temmies dawned over the horizon.

Frisk lays eyes upon the... whatever you would call it. A feeling of something they could only call Detemmination filled them. That was just a guess though. Regardless, they trotted forward, unstopping onto the property.

Sans was on the verge of screaming. "This sight is so horrible it makes me hate my own existence." He turned to Frisk. "You owe me a meal at Grillby's for this."

Frisk rolled their eyes. "Whatever." If he thought they were going to pay his tab he was sorely mistaken.

"HEY SANS," Papyrus said, pushing his brother forwards gently on his chair.

"Wait a minute, what are-"

"GREET OUR COMPANY!"

"WAIT! NO! WHAT ARE YOU-?" He yelled, the strange monsters nearing closer inch by inch.

But nobody came.

Papyrus cackled and backed away as Sans is drowned in a tide of vibrating Temmie.

"MAKE FRIENDS!" He waved at Sans who is struggling to crawl out of the shimmering mountain of white fur.

"NO! I WANT TO BE ALONE FOREVER! ANYTHING BUT THIS!"

"EVEN TORIEL!" His brother called out as loud as possible.

"Wow!" Sans said, head popping up above the overexcited crowd. "Just announce it for the whole world to hear, huh?" He paused and pointed to Papyrus. "Don't take that literally! It's sarcasm, okay?"

Frisk's eyes nearly popped out of their head. Sans and Toriel. Sans had a thing for Toriel? It was hard to imagine that Sans would have a crush on her. Well, maybe not. It was quite apparent they set a lot of time together. They were even best friends on various social media. It crossed their mind that this is all going too far. Like, he showed no sign of it. He wasn't even blushing!. But that may be because he's a skeleton. Whatever.

"WHAT'S SARCASM?" Papyrus asked sarcastically.

Undyne interrupted before Sans could even answer. "Yeah I ship it!" Undyne said, squatting, arms pumped. A wild grin dominated her face.

"Shut it Undyne!" Hollered Sans.

"W-what about Asgore and Toriel?" Argued Alphys. "I think m-my ship is great!" She half-heartedly laughed and gave Undyne a weak smile.

"Yeah, I totally ship that." Sans was nodding his head. Was it sarcasm they just detected? "Undyne, you should ship it too."

"But it's not cannon!" She did a back flip and crossed her arms, giving them a menacing a stare. Frisk couldn't help but think of her flashing eye when she revealed he face on the mountain top before they fought. Frisk wasn't really big on the whole shipping thing. But if Sans really did like Toriel, it could be a disaster. Or a opportunity.

"What do you mean it's not cannon?" Sans' eyes narrow in confusion. "It's not like yours is!"

She struggled to suppress her giggle. "Exactly."

Sans' sideways look instantly becomes one of frustration. It was pretty funny. He didn't make that expression often. "Oh yeah, I see what you did there. Heheheheh. Are you really using my own jokes against me?" After a exchange of uncertain glances, nobody said anything further.

 _At least he is being a good sport about it_ , thinks Frisk happy to see he is fine. _Perhaps I could add to this. I doubt he would even care._

Frisk prances circles around him, unable to resist teasing him. Who could let up a chance like this? "Sans and Toriel sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

"Really kiddo?" He rolled his eyes. "Now, I know I'm a pretty corny guy. But you Frisk, you just hit a bottom low there."

"OH-HO!" Exclaimed Papyrus. "THAT'S A MIGHTY BURN RIGHT THERE BROTHER!"

"I know. I'm bonetacular, ain't I?" He smiled and Papyrus twitched his left eye socket.

"SANS, THAT IS LITERALLY THE WORST PUN THAT YOU'VE SAID YET!"

"I know." He looked down with laughter, stopping as he realized that he had yet to escape the Temmies that swarmed him. "Get them off me!"

"Why don't you just teleport?" Asked Frisk.

"But then I'll have to leave my chair." He said. The sounds of various groans fill the air around the human.

 _Oh, that's why._ They honestly wondered why Sans put so much effort into being lazy. It was actually pretty ironic. So he absolutely hated Temmie and being stuck in the hoard was a nightmare come true, but God forbid he leave his chair.

"Can someone please get these things off me!" Sans' was struggling to move under the mountain of Temmies that have engulfed him in his chair. He gives everyone a equal and helpless look.

"LOOK TEMMIE! TEM FLAKES! YAY!" Yelled Papyrus, waving a large bag of them above his head.

The monsters turn around in unison, like a single organism. Their beady, black eyes were focused on the food like lasers. The flakes have definitely caught their attention. They could barely hold back their excitement.

"Does he really just carry those around in his pockets?" Whispered Frisk into Undyne's ear, who had to lower her head just to hear them.

"Apparently," she whispered back, glancing briefly at her trainee. "I've never gone through his pockets. Frankly, after seeing that, I'm happy I haven't." Frisk gave a understanding nod of approval.

The Temmies are going absolutely nuts over what they call food, uttering random gibberish as they vibrated with more excitement than ever before.

"YOU CAN HAVE THEM ONCE YOUR DONE YOUR WORK!" Papyrus said. The Temmies nod and immediately begin repairs. In a blur of white fur they are gone. All you needed to enslave Temmie race was a bag of torn up construction paper.

"See," said Alphys pointing at the hard working monsters. "They aren't useless."

Undyne snorted as she rolled her eyes. "More useful than the pile of bones sitting in that chair."

"I can hear you," Sans muttered.

"Good."

Awkward silence followed.

"Well," said Undyne stretching. "We should probably help them." With a loud battle cry she charged, ready to work.

"Y-yeah! I'll j-just..." Alphys sighed and pulled out her own phone which she punched in a code with her reptilian claws. In moments the little Mettaton robots are flying out of the house basement, armed with tools and construction materials.

"SANS!" Screamed Papyrus, enraged by his brother's laziness. "YOU SHOULD ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING FOR ONCE! IT WOULDNT HURT YOU TO ACTUALLY WORK FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE!"

Sans tipped down his sunglasses all cool looking. "But that's manual labour bro. I could get seriously hurt."

Frisk smiled. Maybe they should try encouraging him. If they could get him actively participate in the work, he might come upon a realization or something. At least he would be doing something productive. "I think you should do something other than sit around. Who knows, you might really like it."

"No I won't." Sans argued, swatting the words away like a bothersome insect.

The human sighed. _This is hopeless. He will never do any bonding activity no matter what it is. If it requires work, he won't do it. Sans, you are so freaking frustrating at times._ "It's always good to try something new at least once to see if you'll like it."

Papyrus nodded eagerly. Finally, some support. "INDEED HUMAN! I THOUGHT COOKING WOULD SUCK, BUT HERE I AM NOW, MASTER CHEF PAPYRUS, COOKING SKILLS UNPARALLELED BY ANYONE!"

"What if that new thing might kill me?" Sans said being a total smartass. "Should I still try it?"

"Shut up," grumbled Frisk, well aware that this is a hopeless task. "I just don't understand why you do nothing."

"How about a joke," he said, lowering his glasses with a exaggerated wink.

"NO!" Everyone screamed for the second time. Nobody is in the mood for terrible puns. It's not like the work will get done if he jokes. This is so not the time for this.

"I know some good jokes," comes a voice from below, very deep and gruff. They aim their gaze downward and witnessed a single Temmie who could only be the legendary Bob.

Frisk smiled. "Bob! It's been so long. I would hug you but I'm allergic so please don't touch me."

"Hi Frisk. It is nice to see you too." This Temmie was just as hyper as the others, despite having such a slow voice. "Don't worry. I just wanted to say high to a old friend."

Frisk knew Bob quite well actually. He was the only Temmie who could speak proper English. He was only briefly met, but in that time span they covered a lot. Bob was one of the best encounters they had in the Underground. It made them sad they couldn't see him more often.

"WITHOUT A DOUBT BOB'S JOKES ARE BETTER THAN MY BROTHER'S AWFUL PUNS!" Papyrus said, eyeing a frustrated Sans. The strange monster nodded its head in acknowledgement, almost knowing this is true.

Frisk shrugged. "Well, it's not like its jokes could be worse than those puns, right?" Their friends agreement decided to listen, secretly praying inside that this would be better than Sans' aweful puns.

"Why is Bob named Bob?" Nobody responded. Awkward glances are exchanged.

"Uhh...Why?" Asked Alphys.

"Because my name is Bob." More awkward glances. This of course discludes Papyrus. The monster awaits its audiences reception.

Papyrus is cackling like mad. "NYEH HEH HEH! GREAT ONE BOB! IT GETS ME EVERY TIME!"

Frisk scratches the back their neck, relieving them of the strange atmosphere. "Yeah, nice one." At least it wasn't as cringe worthy as those puns.

Alphys chuckled, trying her best not to cringe herself. "Wow Temmie, that was pretty good, he he..."

"Wow, that was so bad it rattled my bones," said Sans with a smile wide as ever.

 _You ass hole_ , thought Frisk giving him a deadly stare. How could... How could he just say that. They knew Bob was very sensitive about its jokes. What the hell is Sans' problem?

"SANS, DON'T HATE ON BOB!" Yelled his brother. But it was too late. The poor monster is already running away, crying.

Frisk couldn't take any more. That was the last straw. They try to help him, but their advice is thrown out the window. They try to set up bonding time, he doesn't care. They are nice to him and he abuses it. They were tired of being ignored by him, manipulated by his friendly smile he used to eave everything away. What the could possibly be happening that he would become such a jerk? How many dirty lies was he keeping?

 _Aren't you mad?_ Taunted the voice in their head.

Oh yes they were.

"What the fuck Sans!" They cried out in rage. "Why are you being so mean!"

"I was just telling the truth." He shrugged innocently, that unchanging expression burrowing its way into their eyes. "Honesty is the best policy."

 _How oblivious and arrogant_ , purrs the voice in its soothing tone. _What a fool he is. Prove to him he is wrong._

"That doesn't mean be rude about!" Frisk felt the anger course through them like a river of molten lava. It boiled and churned inside them, smothering the gentle pacifist inside. They swore the world was becoming red with blood. "Sometimes it's better to lie!"

"She once said it is better to live a lie where both are happy," said Sans as he pointed a bony finger at Alphys. "But you disagreed with her. I can't help but think what you are saying here and now is slightly hypocritical compared to your ways in the Underground."

 _Seems he doesn't care considering how he just butchered your infallible ethical reasoning,_ said the voice. _Seems he has changed and lost his sense of decency in the process._

See? The voice understood them It knew the truth and would never lie. It was their friend. Right? Was it really though, or was this all just a trick. Whatever. It didn't matter.

 _Yes it does,_ whispered the voice.

 _No_ , stated Frisk in response. _I don't trust anyone but_ him _. I guess you are at least on my side though._

 _Fine,_ said the voice. _Choose your own path apart from my guidance. I still speak the truth regardless._

Frisk felt the tears form and begin their slow descent down their face. Those words stung like blades. They clenched their fists to stem the tide of rolling rage, and the dam manages to hold. The tears fell and they cry. But it didn't matter. It didn't change the fact that they were mad and that Sans is wrong.

"You used to be a better person than this. Why have you changed?"

"I haven't changed. The circumstances have." Sans said calmly. Papyrus and Alphys are eyeing him with concern. But he wasn't worried. Children got angry sometimes and so they threw fits. It's a part of growing up.

 _He is batting you away without second thought_ , the voice giggled. _And to think he cared about your well being..._

"That is still changing!" Sobbed Frisk as they collapsed on the ground before him in tears. Only Sans noticed their irises were coloured a deep red.

"You said I wasn't who I am. There is quite the difference between a completely different me and slight adaptation. I just don't like Temmie. I'm sure the bugger will get over it and be totally fine."

 _Notice that he doesn't deny that he chose those insulting words without second thought_ , added the voice. _What does that show you about him?_

The words are gibberish to them as they fly through one ear and exit the other. Anger still unfazed, they stand up. "See? Don't you see? You don't care do you? You won't even bother to apologize!" Every word felt like it had to be shoved through a imaginary clot in their throat. "Now I know you care about Papyrus, Toriel and the others. But what about me?" They gestured at themselves. "What am I to you? Am I just another annoying person you have to put up with, or do I actually have meaning? Do you hate me because I'm just another one?" They crossed their arms defiantly, the sharp pain of emotion tearing them apart inside like glass shards.

"Kiddo, are you okay?" Sans said, actually concerned now. _What the hell is up with you Frisk? Have the true horrors of the Underground finally caught up to you or what?_ He lowered his glasses. "Frisk are you okay? You know we're like family. I care about all of you. Things have been bothering me recently and it's not like I wanted to come here any-" He immediately shuts his mouth. _Damn it, why did I say that?_

 _There is the proof that you've been lacking, the words that strike home._ The voice hummed patiently. _He doesn't care. Your curiosity has been satisfied. Now kill him..._

 _No,_ said Frisk stubborn as ever. _I have a better idea..._ The voice growled and grumbled before receding. Good riddance. Finally, they were alone in their mind once more.

"So you don't care, do you!" Frisk screamed, kicking up grass. Everyone is taken aback by this sudden outburst. A laugh echoed in their mind, followed by the sickly feeling of constriction. But that doesn't matter. Nothing seemed to anymore. "I know your a good liar, and I wonder just how much I can trust you sometimes. Things are bothering you are they?" They spit the words like venom, a firm finger of blame pointing right at him. "Bullshit! You don't care, you just don't care! And then you say I have problems?" They shake their head. "Fuck you Sans. I don't know who or what you are now, but I'm done. I'm leaving and I never want to see you again!" Their eyes burn a fiery red that is all too familiar.

Sans sighed, palm on face. "Kid, I know your young and that this can be hard to understand, but there are things-"

"NO BUTS!" They screamed. Sans managed to avert his gaze from the angry child down at the house where Undyne in utter shock watched the outburst with all the Temmies who are for once quiet. "I'M DONE, I'M LEAVING! STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM ME UNTILL YOU ARE YOU AGAIN!" They took a deep breath as they panted for air.

"Frisk!" Cried Sans. "Listen to yourself speak! Your making no sense, making random, haphazard connections that don't even exist! I know your young but please-"

"Young," they spit with venom as they turn their back to Sans.. "You want to know how old I am? Somewhere around twelve. But being in the Underground taught me a lot and so did my life on the surface before then. I can still remember pieces you know. I know that not everything is what it seems!" They glared into his eyes. "I know a liar when I see one! I know your distancing yourself from us, from me! But why!" They struggled to hold the bottled emotion back. It begins to seep out of their eyes in the form of more tears. "B-but why?" The red begins to fade.

 _Pathetic!_ Uttered the voice. It is merely ignored.

"I can't tell you right now," he said, voice weak. He lowered his eyes in shame.

"Fine." With a steady turn of the heel they bolted off in the direction of the forest, in search of a real friend who would understand. Legs pumping, they run, creating a trail of tears as they do. _I know where to go. I must find_ him _._

 _A change of plan only presents new opportunity_ , muttered the voice. If it were to have a face, it would have grinned. _You are so predictable Frisk. It is of no wonder that Sans can push you away so easily. My plan is flawless because even if it strays, the ending will always be the same._

* * *

"Frisk! Wait!" Cried Sans who reached out at the subsiding figure as they run away, not even bothering to acknowledge his existence.

He was just about ready to take off after them when Papyrus pulled him back by the shoulder. He turned his head, eyes meeting those of his brother's, filled with equal sadness.

"LET THEM GO! IT IS BETTER THAT WAY! HOPEFULLY THEY WILL REALIZE THAT THIS ALL JUST A MISUNDERSTANDING AND SOON RETURN! WHY DO YOU THINK I DO NOT INTERVENE, WHY NONE OF US DID?"

Sans dropped his shoulders, the relieved tension making him feel like a deflated balloon. "Yeah. I guess so Paps." He watched them disappear into the thicket of trees, reflecting on his words. "But I'm worried. I think I should at least follow them."

"Sans," said Undyne as she made it to his brother's side. "Some stuff is better found out alone. You shouldn't intervene. None of us should."

"But what if-"

"Undyne is right," said Alphys. "I-I think we should stay-uh-put. They will come back and it will all be f-fine."

"I might as well follow them, keep an eye out for trouble," argues Sans.

Undyne groans in frustration. "If they find out your following them it won't be good. It's not like anything will be after them anyways."

"I have to," he pushed.

"Why though?" Undyne questioned, arms outstretched in confusion.

"I can't tell you." He immediately teleported away in a flash of blue magic, appearing several metres ahead, back facing the despairing crowd.

"Sorry, but I don't have much of a choice here." He turned his head back to face them. "Something fishy is happening. I can feel it in my bones." Undyne is not thrilled. She shook her head and walked off in hopeless frustration, Alphys following not far behind.

"BE CAREFUL SANS! IF THIS SO CALLED DANGER IS REAL, DON'T TAKE ANY UNNECESSARY RISKS!" The skeleton's scarf blew in the new breeze as he waved him goodbye with his bony hand. It seemed the weather is changing, clouds now rolling in. A storm was coming. That was a bad sign.

"Will do Paps," he said with a quick wink. With a snap of his fingers he's gone, off to find the human.

 _I know your trying to find that flower_ , thinks Sans as he made his way through the forests of Mt. Ebott in search for the human. _That kid is going to get them self killed_. He sighed. _If only they could accept the fact that he can't be saved._


	5. Chapter 3: Your Old Friend

Chapter 3

Your Old Friend

 ***This is another chapter that deviated from the rough copy greatly, but that might be for the best. Don't fear, I'm still writing this and will be for a long time. Although, chapters are going to take a while to make. I'm happy to see people are enjoying this and want more! Don't forget feedback is always appreciated!**

Frisk didn't feel right. How could they? They literally flipped out and ran off into the forest of Mount Ebott. Maybe Sans was right in calling them young. They shouldn't have lost their cool like that. It was embarrassing. How could they ever face their friends after an incident like that? They really were just a pathetic child.

They could hardly remember the argument. It was a montage of gibberish and nonsensical imagery. It's almost as if they had been corrupt. The hate having blinded them, the rage turning everything into a red haze of illegible imagery. It had been scary, the voice pushing them out like a ocean wave. The force simply seemed to be impossible control. That painful feeling though? What was it? That dark crushing void of endless nightmares that created nothing but ill intentions towards others. It sickened them, made them feel unclean and infected. They just hoped they never had to feel it again.

 _Killing always helps reduce the pain._ Said the voice. _I told you to kill him_. _But no, instead you flee like a coward._

 _Shut up,_ thinks Frisk in turn. _I know he may drive me crazy sometimes, but I would never, ever harm him. He's a friend, a family member! Something I doubt you understand._

The voice goes eerily quiet. Not a whisper, gasp or single curse. Just silence. They thought it would at least have had a comeback of sorts. Those words must have struck a nerve.

The sun shined through the canopy of trees above, lighting a dirt mountain trail flanked by various vegetation. It was a very scenic place, but they must not become distracted. They were here for a reason. They made way down the trail, the gentle sounds of nature speaking around them.

It occurred to them that finding Flowey was going to be nearly impossible. Never once had they seen him on the surface. He could still be in the Underground, in which case it woud be a major pain to find him. The last time they saw him, he was Asriel. Now though... Now he would be a flower again.

 _Can I really handle seeing him like that?_ Wondered Frisk as they imagined the demented plant they met first in the Underground intent on making them feel pain. _Oh, what am I thinking? I should go back and apologize. This can't be a smart idea. I need to-_

 _No!_ The voice said with a tinge of desperation. _You must find him. It is important you do._

 _What's the point,_ said Frisk to the voice. _It's not even him. Just a flower that happens to be part of him. He told me to stay away from him anyways. I can't turn my back on his last words to me._

 _You can save him,_ said the voice. _You know there is a way right?_

Frisk raised an eyebrow. _And why should I trust you? You wanted me to murder my friend!_

 _Different beliefs does not mean I lack the knowledge you have. In fact, mine by far surpasses your own._ The voice said calmly.

They didn't want to listen to it, but if what it said was true, then their might be hope in resurrecting Asriel. The possibilities outweighed the negatives.

 _How are you even going to help me?_ Asked Frisk doubtful. _Just how useful is this knowledge? Because I can already use a toaster._

The voice laughed. _What if I told you I know exactly where he is and how to bring him back?_

Frisk considered their options. One; they could follow the advice and do as the voice said until otherwise. Or they could go with option two; turn back and go home.

Frisk smiled. They couldn't give this up. Not a chance like this. Maybe they would actually prove something to Sans for once. _Where is he?_

* * *

Sans was cautiously making his way through the forest in the typical stealthy manner he was all too familiar with. He used it a lot as a Sentry and Snowdin. Sneaking up on humans like Frisk was easy. That had been his job.

He was well aware something was off with them. Those haunting red eyes of murderous intent seemed to suck the life out of him like a vampire fiend. He knew all too well who they belonged to.

Chara. The genocidal freak he remembered fighting all so clearly once he reached the surface. Those terrible memories now haunted him in his sleep. Sometimes it felt as if they were there, watching him. Sleep was hard to come by these days.

 _I'm pathetic_ , he thinks as he walked through the rustling shrubbery. _I failed to do anything when it actually have mattered. If only they understood why._

First things first, locate the kid and make sure they are okay. Only intervene if necessary. And by that he meant something very bad was about to go down. He didn't need them accusing him of being a stalker.

He needed to tell Frisk the truth sometime too. They needed to know what was happening to this universe. In all honesty, the issue of the kid floated around them. But not even he understood it all. There were so many gaps, questions that led to more questions. Plus, it was better if they were unaware of what was going on with them at the moment. They had no need to know it was Chara. Evil presence would do for now.

He didn't blame them for loosing it though. They deserved to be mad at him. He wasn't living up to who he was supposed to be and that clearly upset them. It seemed they both faced a crisis they were confused about and it was starting to impact their everyday life. The result was emotional friction.

What impact Chara was having on Frisk, he didn't have a clue about. All he knew is that he needed to protect them. He couldn't fail the promise he made Toriel so long ago. Keep the kid safe. That was what mattered and if the soulless child was behind this, they were in danger.

Chara was in their head, he could infer that much from the red eyes and sudden out burst. Their ultimate goal was a mystery though. Yeah, they probably want to come back one way or another, but to what extent and why? It's not good, that's for sure. What horrors would they try to inflict on him after he killed them so many times over thousands of time lines? Just thinking about it rattled his bones.

He pushed his way through the shrubbery. _I'm coming Frisk._

* * *

 _How much farther_ , said Frisk as they dragged their feet over the forest floor.

 _Patience Frisk,_ the voice whispered gently. _We are nearly their. Once we make it though, you have to listen to me._

Frisk pushed away an annoying tree branch. _Is that because your plan involves me willingly taking actions you want me to take? Is that it?_

 _Do you want to bring back your best friend?_ Said the voice cold as winter. _Or would you rather leave him here to rot forever, alone, sad and miserable?_

 _Fine,_ whimpered Frisk. They reach a clearing where a single, small tree of ancient age sat enveloped in the rays of the evening sun. _I'll do as you say. But if you try anything funny, I'm going to leave._

 _Good._ It felt as if the voice had just nodded. _Oh, we have just arrived at our destination. See, my senses do not lie. He should be moping around here somewhere._

Frisk sensed the essence of the voice probe for unusual determination signals. They immediately lock onto a yellow flower with a bent stalk by the trunk.

Frisk couldn't believe their eyes. Well, they could, but it had been such a long time since they last met. Now here he was, golden flower on a green stem staring down into the swaying field of grass in despair. Sheesh, what happened to the evil, cocky being they were familiar with in the Underground?

 _How did you even know he was here_ , asked Frisk. _Why do you even care for that matter? Who are you anyways?_

 _A friend of a friend,_ the voice said.

Frisk, deciding not to chase the matter instead changed the subject. Their was no time for asking hopeless questions. The voice was going to either be silent or cryptic, neither of which appealed to them.

 _What do I do?_ Asked Frisk as they stared at the sulking flower. He didn't really look much for conversation right now. They remembered him saying he couldn't love, but it seemed he was able to brood over a sense of failure.

 _Are you serious?_ The voice mumbled. _Talk to him, lighten up his day. Your the pacifist kid who is supposed to make everyone sooooo happy. Do your job and spread that feeling._

 _What if he gets mad at me?_ Frisk worried.

 _He's a flower, he can fight but I doubt he can actually do anything._ The voice said overhearing their thoughts. _You'll be fine. Trust me._

Frisk sighed, not really trusting the voice. But what choice did they have if they wished to free their friend from the corrupt bonds of his flower form. The main problem for them was how that was going to work.

Frisk took several light steps, crunching the long grass underfoot. Flowey turned around slowly, a deep frown displaying all he felt and existed for. They pitied them, but he could still very much be dangerous if they were not careful.

"Why are you even here?" Grumbled Flowey as he turned away from them, staring out into the dark forest. "Have you come to bring back the old me? Pathetic. I thought you would care more for my last wish. Well, his last wish."

"I'm doing this for you," said Frisk with a smile, something Flowey could not manage except when pain was inflicted on others. "You just didn't know how to sustain yourself in that form. Trust me, I can brig you back."

Flowey gave them a lopsided look complete with a dumb expression. "Prove it then. Like I can feel enough to care."

 _Now would be the time to tell me what to do_ , Frisk pushed.

They swore the voice was smiling somewhere deep in their head. _It's so easy, I'm surprised you haven't figured it out yourself._

 _Just tell me!_

The voice goes from dark to cold cruelty in a heartbeat. _All you have to do is give him your soul._

 _WHAT!_ Cried Frisk in panic. Then calmer, _Why?_

 _Only one human soul holds power enough to convert him and that one is yours,_ explained the voice. _It took six for him to become a god, but yours alone should be stable and powerful enough to host his true self._

 _But that means I die!_ ArguedFrisk.

 _Not necessarily,_ it said. _But you will no longer be physically alive. Your soul will be fine. Mentally, you will exist in unison. I cannot say as to what the long term effects of this are, for I have no experience with such matters._

Flowey sighed. "If your going to stand their and stare off into nothing, could you please just spare me my misery and leave?"

 _Should I give him my soul?_ Debated the human child as they stare deep into his black eyes of eternal loss. _Is it truly worth it, or is their another way. Why can't he just find himself._

 _THERE IS NO OTHER WAY!_ Screamed the voice _. GIVE HIM YOUR SOUL OR I WILL MAKE YOU REGRET YOU EVER EXISTED!_

 _Your very persistent,_ Frisk replied suspicious. _That is awfully suspicious of you._

 _Just give him your damn soul,_ the voice rumbled.

 _Or what?_ They taunt. _What are you possibly going to do about it. You are a voice in my head and nothing else._ Despite that they couldn't help but feel that it held insurmountable amounts of untapped potential. They realistically had no idea what the voice was capable of.

"Why are you even still here?" Whined Flowey. "Just leave! Stop staring out into nothing like that, it bothers me!"

Frisk was stuck at a crossroads. Give him their soul or not. Listen to the voice or not. They didn't trust the voice, but they would rather go with the plan and become happy with Asriel rather than reject the offer and suffer the consequences of the voice. But was this all just a trick? Was it really the right thing to do?

In reality, they just wanted to collapse and die. Just lay down and cry it all away and pretend nothing ever happened. It would just be better that way. But they knew the voice wouldn't allow that and so they needed to make a choice and fast. But that wasn't a problem. The choice was as clear as daylight.

 _No!_ Growled Frisk. _I'll never trust a voice that tells me to kill my friends!_

 _So be it,_ it said calmly. _Then you shall suffer. To think I would let you so rudely deny my offer is a childish thought. If you won't give it willingly, I'll just have FORCE it!_

The feeling of sickness filled them, a very bad flu taking over in seconds as the voice worked its powers. It pushed its way through them, their heart practically boiling in their chest. It burned, the illogical emotions forcing their way out as though they had a mind of their own. The familiar feeling of intense anger; hate, is everywhere. It was wretched and powerful.

 _But how?_ Wondered Frisk in shock. _This is my body._

The voice pulled on their soul harder, using every scrap of power it had to try and envelop their soul in tendrils of shadow. The alien appendages of dark emotion burn their very being, but Frisk refused to give in. They couldn't let the voice rip them of their soul. If that happened, they would be truly screwed.

Frisk collapsed to their knees as the voice rang out like a church bell in their head. _WHO EVER SAID YOU WERE THE ONE IN CONTROL?_ The voice attacked with renewed energy, sending every ounce of both Frisk's and it's own bottled emotions towards them at maximum velocity. The impact shakes their bones and in seconds their eyes are flashing red like, on and off like a light switch.

Flowey in fear, observed the strange phenomenon he had yet to understand. Despite not having a soul, the primal fear of flight or fight rang like an alarm inside him. Something was clearly wrong and their was no way in hell he was going anywhere near them.

 _Scared of that little idiot_ , thinks Flowey in disgust of himself. _Never would have imagined that happening. What the hell is up with them anyways? Well, it sure looks painful if anything. For once I actually feel a bit of sympathy for them...NOT! HaHaHAHAHA! Actually, you know what, screw it! I might as well check on them. I must see this outcome._ In the cover of the long grass he snaked out towards them.

 _Give in to me Frisk and it will all be better,_ the voice purred. _I promise I won't hurt you anymore than needed. However, if you continue to make me mad I can't guarantee you'll survive._

 _I refuse!_ They screamed, the very words loosening the black bonds of their heart.

Frisk caught sight of Flowey who slowly crawled out of the shadows and into their vision. He trembled at the stem despite wearing his evil, snide impression. His eyes are elongated beads that stare deep inside them and his mouth is pursed closed in a wicked expression of glee.

"You come here thinking to save me when you can't even save yourself," said Flowey in his excessively evil, pitch changing voice.

Frisk looked up weakly, trying to supress every ounce of anger inflicted by the flower's words. At this point, they couldn't pierce their emotional shell of happiness. However, the voice was able to insert the words in places that really did hurt them. The strange presence that is a part of them grew in strength with every heart beat, spreading the vile poison further.

"Asriel.." Whimpered Frisk as they clutched an arm over their chest, the other warding him off. "Please...Stay away. Just be...nice for once. Help me, please." Every word was forced through gritted teeth, barely audible against the rustling leaves and grass.

Flowey goes from evil to wide eyed in seconds, recoiling in shock. _What is happening? Why are their eyes so...red? Only one other person has those and... No, it can't be. They always were so similar in appearance..._

 _Give him your soul!_ The voice drilled into their skull with a bark. _If you would just give him your soul this would be all so much easier._ The voice weighed in more. _SO JUST GIVE UP ALREADY!_

 _I never will!_ Cried Frisk.

The voice goes deathly silent. _So be it. Let me show you my real pain, my real hate. I won't hold back in longer. You pacifists are always so stubborn._

The dark feeling started of as a slight insect bite, a tiny irritation of the skin. But in seconds the main bulk came crashing down like a river of rage, hate so concentrated and pure it cast a shadow upon their very existence like a curtain ending the show. It seemed so finalizing, but they knew it was merely the beginning. The beginning of a long and excruciating torture.

Frisk wailed as the presence gave its all, enveloping them in a sphere of pain they could never escape. The emotion wriggled inside them as would a parasitic worm burrowing through it host. It felt gross. It violated them deeply, sending a burning torrent of bile out of their mouth onto the grass. Despite the symptoms of rejection, the voice managed to keep a foothold.

 _What even is this?_ Questioned Frisk looking down as they visibly shake, hands twitching like mad. _What is this feeling. I feel so..._ It was no use. No word would ever describe the sheer magnitude of this feeling. And this was not even a visible rendition of the being who lived in their head? How could anything possibly possess so much negativity?

 _This is hatred,_ said the voice in calm cruelty now truly exposed. _This is_ my _hatred._

 _I-it...it is s-so horrifying,_ stuttered Frisk in pain and fear, two feelings that made the presence smile. They couldn't believe that this kind of emotion existed in a perfect world. But how, just how did it exist?

 _Imagine this painful and agonizing power being the very foundation of your existence,_ explained the voice as though dead. _I'm only here because I'm determined to follow through with my plans to satisfy my hate. To do so I must take it out on someone. Gift them with it, if I shall put it nicely. And the receiver, is you Frisk. Your impeding my progress and I'm not to fond of meddling nuisances like you and your skeleton friend._

Frisk doesn't respond as their eyes water with crystal tears. Flowey watched in shock, unable to understand a churning feeling in his chest. That tearful face begging for innocence was so familiar. Something stirred inside him, something actually worth noticing. But it was so weird, like a alien substance from beyond this world. What should he do? What did it mean to comfort another person? These were the questions that ran amok in Flowey's head.

Frisk cried as the shadowy presence finally pulled itself up, enveloping their soul in a black shroud of negative feelings. As determined as they were, they were trapped. There was no dodging, no resetting or anything. This was the end. The real end, the end where they would die for real and not awaken in the comforting light of a flashing save point.

The thought hit them like a speeding truck. It was slowly becoming harder to breath, the being trying as hard as it could to kill them. If they died, the being would use the manifested emotions to force the soul into the unsuspecting flower. Asriel would return at the cost of their life.

 _How does it feel to be in my shoes?_ Questioned the voice. _Do you like the feeling of sins crawling on your back? I'm honestly surprised you've lasted this long. You are very determined for being such a weakling._

Frisk doesn't even acknowledge the suffocating words reverberating in their head. "Asriel, I'm sorry I didn't listen to you. Please, forgive me like I did for you and save me! I'm begging you Asriel! I know your in that soulless husk somewhere!" They released a cry of agony as they lurch back, a rib punching through their skin with a sickly snap accommodated by the tearing of flesh. In horror they observe the blood coated bone as fluid drips down either side in miniature streams.

 _I'm in control now,_ said the voice. _And I'm not afraid of damaging my host. I've won Frisk. Now all I have to do is release your soul. This would be far less painful if you did it willingly, you know? But don't worry, we'll have tons of fun! I'll make sure I'll kill you in the most agonizing way possible._ The voice laughed slowly, evil radiating from the tone that changed pitch. The voice then proceeded to tear them apart piece by piece.

"Save me Asriel!" Whispered Frisk as blood seeped its way out of their mouth, colouring the lush green a dark crimson. With their last ounce of strength they unfastened the locket, every action utterly exhausting and difficult. They drop the heart shaped locket and the world faded away, the flower utterly shocked as the one they wished death on so persistently in the Underground passed away in despair right before his eyes, hopelessly begging to live like all the monsters he killed back in the previous timelines.

For the first time in forever, Flowey actually felt something new stir inside him.

* * *

A single red heart wrapped in shadows pulses with what little determination it has.

* * *

Flowey felt the memories rush back as the locket landed silently on the ground before him. The fight, the forgiving and the hug. That moment when they held each other in arms, crying as they struggled to find comfort in one another. It was so sad to say goodbye.

* * *

The soul is constricted further, the hate crushing what little resistance remained.

* * *

But Asriel Dreemuur was now stuck as a flower on the surface, forced to watch everyone else live happy lives. He hated them, every last person he hated. Hell, he hated himself for even being sympathetic towards the child. But it felt wrong to let them die. He couldn't live knowing that he let his, he hated to even mention the word, _friend,_ die.

* * *

The soul is shattered, but one shard, a piece of pure determination still persists. It fills the empty void with an intense glow of red. _They_ were almost there.

* * *

The tune from the musical statue played in his head as he took a deep breath to remember the times his mother had wound it to put him and Chara to sleep. When they died, his parents sealed the musical box in the statue for remembrance. The words worked their way up his throat, words that would be a sin to say to the one who only looked like them. But it just felt right. It felt like what Asriel would do. What _he_ should do

* * *

The last fragment of Frisk's soul is nearly in _their_ grasp. The shadows surround it like hungry wolves as they leap in for the kill. Soon Asriel would be back and they could begin their campaign of freedom!

* * *

"I love you Frisk." The words are not in the voice of a flower, but rather a kind child who could only be _him._

* * *

With those words the void shattered, the soul now remade and filled with too much determination for the voice to contain. It shot free as the evil being is shoved into the deepest pits of their mind, screaming hopeless protest as the soul returns to where it belongs. Eventually all fell silent as Frisk woke up from near death with a fit of bloody gasps and coughs.

* * *

 _They_ are angry and wish to tear reality apart around them. But they cannot, for they had failed. All that build up for nothing. Nothing! NOTHING! _They_ wanted to kill themselves over and over for making such a stupid mistake. _They_ should have known Asriel would help Frisk. It's the same reason why _they're_ so called "flawless" plan to cross the Barrier and take human souls failed.

 _This isn't the end Frisk,_ thinks Chara to themselves, smiling. _I will find another way and return. And when I do, there'll be hell to pay. After all, the ending_ is _always the same._

* * *

Frisk shot up from their near death slumber in pain. A piercing feeling jabs in their chest and they immediately lay back down. The exposed rib still bled. Flowey was unaffected by their current condition. He looked away in shame, a frown below a pair of solid black eyes.

"You actually said something nice for once," whispered Frisk with nothing more than a big smile. Maybe some playful teasing would lighten him up a bit. Their was no point in talking about what just happened yet.

"Shut up," bickered the flower. "I didn't even want to anyways. That was Asriel, not me."

Frisk rolled their eyes. "Yeah, suuuuuureee."

"Don't use that tone with me!" Complained the flower. "I did nothing and you deserve nothing fool!"

"Your tone is a clear sign your lying." They stare at him and he gaped his mouth open as if he just couldn't believe the human used his own words against him.

"Your a very insufferable person," grumbled Flowey.

"Yeah," thinks Frisk as they try their best to ignore the wound. Honestly, the bone protruding from their body scared the crap out of them. Their mouth still tasted heavily of copper. And it was getting worse, the fluid still dripping from their lips. Their back felt wet for some reason too. Something else must have broken.

"Stop being so casual about all this!" Screamed the flower. Now he was really getting annoyed.

"Did I mention your a very pretty flower?" Said Frisk.

Flowey cringed. "You disgust me. I'm a guy you dimwit."

"No," said Frisk with a grin the rivalled Sans. "Your a flower, or maybe you really are Asriel."

"Shut up!" Whined the flower. "Stop using my words against me!"

"Then kiss me," Frisk said as they raise their eyebrows.

Flowey, unable to respond, looked like he was on the brink of vomiting. "What the hell is wrong with you? No, I'm not kissing your boo boos away you idiot. Stop flirting with me!"

"Say please."

Flowey wanted to scream. The child nearly gets killed and was horribly wounded, yet they still try to make friendly conversation? Did they really find his presence so comforting that they would make small talk in this condition? Wow, they really are quite determined to befriend and save everyone. Then again, he was Asriel, so that meant a lot to them. How did they manage to see through his soulless husk anyways?

"Why must you be so merciless now?" Moaned Flowey.

"Look who that's coming from," said Frisk.

Flowey didn't feel like revisiting his past sins. "Fine! Will you please stop flirting with me?"

"See, was that so hard? I'm already teaching you manners" said Frisk softly as they watch him from the corner of their eye. They wished they weren't stuck on their back. If they tried to get up it might wound them further. They couldn't strain themselves. They had to sit still until Sans or someone else arrived to carry them home. They felt really weak and dizzy though.

"Enough fun and games," said Flowey, deadly serious as he circled them on his long, green stalk. "I know about that thing inside of you. I can feel them desperately tug on me. They wanted to give me your soul and that us something I could never resist, but..."

"You couldn't bring yourself to let me die," finished Frisk.

Flowey seemed to stare into their very soul as he nodded. "I felt him. He didn't want you to die, so he saved you. What came over me? What was I thinking? Your not even them. Why the hell am I-I mean him so intent on being nice to you? Whenever I see you I want to rip you to bloody pieces just to get rid of that strange feeling I get. If you die, that feeling will end with it."

He sprouted a vine and gently lifted the locket up from the ground. He studies the familiar engravings and design. "This makes me feel even worse," spat the flower as they tossed it at the child. It landed silently by their side. "I envied all who felt compassion, but I never imagined it could make someone so foolish and reckless."

In a blur, he whipped around and stared out at the mountain. "Don't expect me to help you ever again, especially when..." He trailed off and finished in his head, _I could side with Chara instead of you._ He shook his petals. "I should have let you die. Helping you is wrong. It makes me sick even thinking about what I said."

"I understand," said Frisk with a bloody sigh. They lurched and coughed up red droplets. "Your confused and that is okay." Flowey sure seemed frustrated if anything. They knew he was confused and scared of the new feelings brewing inside him. Flowey was going to deny every truth they so much as uttered regardless of what they said anyways. Some day he would hopefully come to realize the truth as the truth. They just wanted him to be their friend, but that wasn't going to happen any time soon. He knew something too, they could see it plain as day in that face of his. Of course he wasn't going to tell though. Trust barely existed between them.

"You should go," grumbled Frisk as those thoughts soared through their head. "Sans will surely sense this and you don't want to be found here when he does."

Flowey wore a devilish grin. "Oh, I'll happily leave you here to rot. Don't think I'll be nice to you again. I still want to become a god and truth be told, I'm not very impressed with you ruining my plans. You just got lucky this time. Next time, your dead!" With a evil laugh, he subsided into the earth, leaving Frisk to contemplate his words.

"I'll bring you back Asriel," said the human as they grab the locket and close their fist. It was what made him remember himself. Perhaps there was still hope. "I swear on my soul I will."

With those words their grip loosens and the world went dark.

* * *

Sans stumbled across the area several minutes later to see Frisk lying wounded and bleeding on the ground surrounded by a pool of their own blood. Welp, seemed he was too late to prevent injury. Injuries looked bad too. So much for saving them from danger. He just needed to get them out alive at this point. That seemed unlikely.

As he checked their vitals, he wondered what their problem was. If he was right, Chara was somewhere in their and that made him pretty uncomfortable. What did that mean though? Why go out in search of Flowey? What the hell was their plan? Whatever. It failed. That's all that mattered.

"Your gonna have a lot of explaining to do kiddo." He sighed as he observed the protruding bone. "And that is going to be a problem." Guessing from the blood streaking from either side of their lip, any number of ribs could be broken. He had to be careful.

"Carefully," he said out loud for self confidence. He needed levitate them straight up. If he didn't, he would cause more internal tissue damage. He turned their soul blue, but before he even began the human's eyes flash open.

"Frisk!" Said Sans in surprise. "Don't move. Your in pretty rough shape. How did you even-"

"It hurts." Groaned Frisk. "Everything hurts. I-I feel so faint... Why is everything so d-dark?" They have their eyes squinted shut in agony.

Sans glanced at their soul and saw fractures crawl across it like a cracked pane of glass. It could shatter at any moment. And if they died, they would have to replay through all of these events over again. _Oh no_ , thinks Sans. _This is bad. What do I do, what_ can _I do?_

"Sans," moaned Frisk as their eyes glow a slight red. "Do something. I-I'm dying."

"You can just load your Save file," said Sans in panic. "Right kiddo? You'll do fine, right?"

 _Perhaps I can still act_ , thinks the voice wickedly behind their backs. _They should succeed, but if they die, I could use that determination to amplify my own and find Asriel. I would win. Heeheehee, the human souls' ability to persist after death is so useful! I will gladly take their weak and exhausted soul. We are, after all, linked by Determination to our very cores._ They pause. _If he seriously let's them die I'll be astonished. It will be lucky day._

"There is no loading this time," rasped Frisk as they coughed up more blood. The crimson pool spreads around them. "And I think you know why. Don't deny it Sans."

"That fucking bastard," growled Sans. They really were as despicable as he remembered, if not worse! They were desperate to gain control. There was no way Frisk's determination could stand against their hate in this condition. Snatching the soul after death would be a breeze. "Hang in their Frisk. I think I might have something."

Sans is immediately digging through all his pockets. _Please be some, please be some, please be some._ Practically praying for ketchup or something else that could heal hit points or stop bleeding.

There was none.

Sans was on the brink of crying. He couldn't get home, for it was too far away. He couldn't call for help. They would never make it in time. What was he supposed to do? How could he stop them from dying. _Think Sans think! What can stop this from happening? I'm such an idiot for never using healing items!_

He paused as he thought of Toriel's magic abilities. _There is one way, but I really don't want too..._

"Sans," said Frisk. "Can you use healing magic?"

He nodded nervously. "Yes, but it is extremely complicated thing to do. If I mess up I could kill you. Considering I've never done it before, it is highly probable I will mess up. I'm guilty of thinking the same thing."

"Just try Sans," mumbled Frisk. "It's not like we have a choice here. I-I'll die anyways."

"I can't Frisk!" Complained Sans, sweating bullets. "I couldn't live with the fact I killed you."

"Please! I-I believe in you." Whimpered Frisk. "You can do it Sans, I trust that you can. Your a genius, I'm sure this will be easy for you." Despite their fear of death who's knocking on their door and the pain that coursed through them, they smile. The iconic expression that never failed.

It filled Sans with determination, but only a small dosage equivalent to practically nothing. Too much and he would melt. The idea didn't really thrill him, especially after watching Undyne melt away in the lab with Alphys.

"Fine," admitted a heart-warmed Sans in defeat, knowing the only other alternative is guaranteed death and victory for Chara. "I will do my best," He relaxes and takes a deep breath. _I'm practically soaked in my own stress._ He tried to recall what Toriel told him about the procedure in their little chit-chat.

" _Remain calm. If you don't, you miss the little details," Toriel had said. "And that can be fatal."_

Okay, Step one is done. Now he really wished he had took the course. He was absolutely capable of it, but talking about an ability that takes long amounts of practice doesn't really mean he was qualified to use it. But these were dire circumstances. Now, what was step two?

" _All us monsters can use magic, right," Toriel had said. "With healing, you simply put your magic into the wounded person. You use telekinesis, right? Now, imagine doing that on the cellular level."_

 _Wow, that sounds hard,_ thinks Sans as he injected Frisk with the blue aura that surrounded him. His eye blazed a soft blue. It was weird at first, feeling his magical energy weave it's way around the various tissue inside them. They gasp as their body shivers and goes numb. They soon set in though, becoming attuned with Frisk's bodily makeup and condition.

Sans realized just why this was so deadly. _I could literally tear them apart at any moment. I have to stay calm though. If I stay calm I can grow and put the cells together. Oh God, this is going to be very tiring. There is no way recovering somebody from the brink of death can be easy._

Slowly, ever so slowly does he mend the broken ribs together, magical bonds sealing them tight as the magic energy promoted cellular growth. The rib protruding from their chest subsided, the wound closing behind it. Their lungs rebuild themselves, any injury sealing itself tight.

It was a long procedure. The internal trauma was everywhere, as if they were being ripped part from the inside out. Something like that could only be the work of a demon. A demon who wanted a soul to become free. But that wasn't going to happen. If he failed here, it would truly be over. The world would be slaughtered in its wake.

Almost passing out, Sans released his magic and falls onto his face, the last bit of tissue repaired. Frisk sits up, cross legged and smiling. It was the best thing he had seen in forever. Tears of relief stream down his face as he sit up, only to be immediately tackled to the ground by the hyper child. They were alive! They won. Never in his life had he felt like he actually made a difference. Now though, now he had.

Sans laughed and Frisk hugged them, laying their weight into him. "Sans, I promise I'll never be you like that ever again. I will do everything I can to think the best of every situation." They stared up to him with watery eyes and sobbed, "I love you." And then they cry, tears soaking his white undershirt.

"I know you do kiddo" said Sans, joy filling his white soul. "I l-love you to." The words felt odd coming from his moth, but it just seemed right. " I will never break a promise, never again in my life." And he wasn't lying either.

They get up and begin the journey home, happy to have one another. For the first time in all his known memory, Sans cried tears of happiness.

* * *

 _Seems my luck failed me,_ thinks Chara. _But this is only the beginning._


	6. Chapter 4: Your Worst Nightmare

Chapter 4

Your Worst Nightmare

 ***I was busy this weekend so this chapter got a bit delayed. It was originally going to include Sans' dream as well, but the story works better if it is separate. That will be next. And yes, we finally get to see Gaster. Yay!**

 ***Also, I will be revealing Frisk's gender in Chapter 6. I got a review that suggested I should give them a gender and I will. When I first started writing this I had already chosen a gender. I was just waiting to reveal it and now I have to admit that it would be better sooner than later. Plus, revealing their gender in Chapter 6 will allow me to have some fun making the chapter. So thank you! Don't forget that feedback is always appreciated!**

 ***Note that I will not be revealing Chara's gender for a loooooong time. I haven't even chosen which gender I want them to be yet.**

* * *

The trip home with Sans was rather uneventful. They talked and chatted all the way. In no time, the sun was setting, turning the sky to a lovely orange. Sans seemed to be much better too. In turn, they did as well. Sans said he would talk to them about truth tomorrow evening At least that created some form of satisfaction.

It had been a long day and Frisk just wanted to sleep. They still ached from the internal damage and healing. It was hard to believe they could have died back there, having nearly bled out on the forest floor. They could only imagine the terror Sans felt at that moment.

Arriving at home caused a huge uproar. They mentioned nothing to their worried sick friends. It was lying, but they didn't want to make them worry. They were still alive and well, so there was no need to panic. Toriel cried and thanked Sans greatly. Frisk swore they heard him grumble, "you have no idea," under his breath. And it was true. Nobody but them in the room knew.

Of course they were scolded too. Toriel lectured them and Asgore tried to help, but he just got kicked out of the house... Literally. After her words on danger and staying safe they went up to their room. It was getting late and they were exhausted.

The room was dark and cold, the window open to reveal a very bright moon surrounded by a field of twinkling stars. The monsters when they arrived on the surface were astounded by the fall of night. The stars blew their minds, and the moon amazed them just as much as the sun had.

Frisk couldn't help but adore the glimmering lights that sparkled on their endless black background into the deeper beyond. Sometimes they wondered what lay beyond Earth and her sun. What amazing sights each giant ball of gas had to offer. It was hard to imagine such a simple dot of light could be so powerful an entity.

The monsters of the Underground had long ago lost their fear of the dark. Yes, the strange shadows of the various furniture in the room was rather creepy, webbing out like the diseased arms of some creature. But they had lost their fear of the night. The occasional groan of the settling house did not bother them, nor did the gust of nightly wind under the moonlit sky.

They preferred night over day. Simple as that. It was the closest thing to the darkness of the Underground that they found all too familiar. It was just that the sun seemed so alien to them, the Underground showing them it was unnecessary. At least now they could sleep in their own bed under the warm blankets.

Toriel did her routine, kissing them good night on the cheek before leaving them alone in their room. With a smile she closed the door behind her.

Frisk took in a deep breath that became a sigh of relief. They shift under their blankets. _Finally, some rest. I wonder what Sans is doing. I doubt he's sleeping._

In no time at all they were fast asleep.

* * *

Frisk shot up in panic, looking around wildly. They knew the place they were in all too well. It was the infamous Judgement Hall, the very place Sans commented on their pacifist ways and true heart. It had been eerie even without the skeleton. The awfully silent atmosphere did not sit well with them.

Weakly, heart throbbing in their ears, they pushed themselves onto their feet. They were convinced this was the place. It smelled of nothing, the air empty of any scent.

The serene lighting added its own intimidating presence to the room. It glared upon the waxed tiles of the long floor. The triumphing pillars on either side seemed to escort the floor, as if looking over it like some looming guardian.

"Hello?" They called out, their voice ringing down the empty hall. Nervous chills crawled on their back. It may have been a dream, but it was still very real. Anything could pop out of anywhere at any moment. And it could be anything.

"Welcome to the home of my torture," whispered a voice they found all too familiar. The words travelled upon the walls like a hoard of insects. "Better put, this is my hell."

"Who are you? Tell me right now! I want answers!" Frisk demanded, recognizing the voice as the one who tried to convince them to give up their soul. If they weren't scared before, they sure as hell were now. Since they landed on the flowers they had felt their presence inside them, far weaker than it was now. With the Barrier broken however, it came back stronger than ever, a great vengeance included.

"I would tell you," the voice said from everywhere yet nowhere. "But you should have figured it out by now." The voice was so smooth and seductive. It also stood out as purely evil. Like they would ever trust whoever it was.

"If you had committed yourself to monster genocide you might know who I am. You can always reset anyways." It laughed, the chilling sound filling the room in seconds before fading to nothing. It filled their soul with the dark feeling of dread.

 _See, there it is again._ Thinks Frisk. _The whole kill everyone you love ordeal. It just won't give up._

Even the mere thought of killing made Frisk want to throw up. A sick feeling made them feel gross inside. The nauseous feeling in their stomach was all too familiar every time they saw themselves die. How somebody could murder in cold blood was beyond them. You would have to be pretty heartless to murder innocent monsters begging for their lives.

"I would never do that! It's wrong!" They screamed. "I'll never do what you tell me to do!"

The voice paused. "Fine. Then will you please spare and mercy them all?"

 _What a smartass_ , thinks Frisk. They sighed hopelessly. Was everything just a game to the voice? "Why did you even bring me here? I couldn't care less about the Judgement Hall. It's just a giant empty hall, who cares."

"Because I suffered great pain and rage here," replied the hidden entity. "Of course you cannot remember. That is a different topic however, one I'm not in the mood too discuss. Ask your lazy skeletal friend about that. His knowledge is inferior to mine, but he understands the basics. If you kill him after, I may just expand on that information."

They crossed their arms defiantly, hoping the voice could see just as well as it could hear. "Knows about what?"

"Do you really think I would tell you?"

Frisk nodded.

The voice cracked down into a fit of childish giggles, showing the true colours of the voice's insanity. "Well, your a real stupid person to say the least. I'm surprised that your great bony friend has left you so ignorant about the truth."

They stomped on the hall floor, a feeble clap travelling down the maw of the hall. "Just stop! All I do is be nice to everyone, but you abuse me to achieve your own sick goals!" They unfolded their arms and try to supress their hate. It's hard. "Your just as bad as every other mean human on the surface. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if you told me to kill myself." Even speaking the words had took effort, each one bringing back painful memories of the surface before falling into the Underground.

They were astonished to find that the voice had no comeback. It seemed to be considering, something that it had never done before. "I would never, ever tell you to that."

Okay, now they were just plain confused. Since when did the demon living their had have a heart? That was a response they had not been expecting.

"Why?" They asked, head down. "Your literally insane. You tell me to kill my friends and even tried to forcefully give my soul to Asriel? Who would have thought you cared."

"It's not the fact of that I care," explained the voice in a neutral tone. "It's the fact that... Well, let's just say your death would cause unnecessary complications." The voice had no desire to insult them odd as it was. That wasn't to say they were going to be positive though.

"Your using me as a host," said Frisk the answer dawning upon them. "That's why. If I die, you go down with me." The voice really was just selfish.

"Yes," admitted it. "But it is a bit more complicated then that. It would make more sense if Sans actually told you something for once in his goddamn life."

"I'm going to go ahead and say right now that you aren't a really friendly person are you?" If the voice had proved anything, it's that it was really mean and utterly ruthless. However, they seemed very timid and passive. What rage it had must have been kept collected and cold, something that made it seem all the more intimidating.

The unseen voice growled. "I hate idiots. I hate everyone in and on this world. All of you are equally pathetic, each one rude and predictable. So simple minded, yet so quick to judge. Very few understand what this all really is, and by that I mean a very small number."

"Maybe you should try being nice for once," said Frisk. "You might actually get somewhere."

"I already tried that," responded the voice. "It never worked damn it! I came to realize that both of your races are equally hopeless. Why should I be nice to a bunch of oblivious, worthless mouth pieces?"

Frisk was amazed by the hate the being contained. Who would have thought it was possible to literally hate everything?

They turn their back, unable to decide on where the voice comes from. "You have a really bleak outlook on life. You and Flowey are so similar."

The voice once again paused to consider it's words. Another soft spot? They wanted to push the topic more, but the fear of painful consequences kept their lips firmly zipped.

"I admit, we share a common worldview." If the voice was cold before, now it was an arctic breeze. They were glad to keep their mouth shut. "And I'm the extremist of the two. I'm also far better than that begging, backstabbing piece of shit I once called a friend. They betrayed me twice! Oh, I wish I could stomp on him for all of eternity, watch the life leave his eyes over and over as I tear him apart petal by petal!"

The deep breathing of the voice filled the room and Frisk in terror, darted their eyes over the walls. The voice was too caught up in its own rage to pay them any mind. But man, _they_ never even hated him that much. What did it have against the flower. Wait... No, it couldn't be _them_ could it?

The voice ranted on. "I would happily run that traitor over with a lawn mower, cut him down like the weed he is. Perhaps I could poison him and watch him beg for mercy as he ever so slowly wilts away in painful agony." The words were not only hateful, but filled with glee. To make it worse, they bust out into childish laughter, the sound bouncing of every corner. It's so loud they covered their ears. They just didn't want to hear any more of it. Enough was enough.

The polluted laugher exiting the voice's mouth was making their stomach do back flips. They shook their head in disgust, cringe clear as day on their face. _It's all just a dream Frisk,_ they think with a deep breath. _In and out. In and out. It will be okay. Their is nothing to be afraid of._

"Your purely evil," whispered Frisk, now calmer as the heartless sound faded away into silence. "What kind of a freak are you? I just want you out of my head." It was true. It was all they wanted. To be left alone for once would be a dream come true.

Blackness seemed to close in around them, the dark shadows elongating as the presence became all too real for the nightmare this was. It chuckled. "Yes, I am quite unstable. I've been told that a lot and I don't need you to rub the salt in my wounds. You know Frisk, your really weak hearted for being so determined. I mean, it's almost absurd, isn't it?"

Frisk doesn't respond. It was true, they were shy and afraid of many things. They were by no means brave. But if they wanted to do something, they would. They were always determined. Yet it was a gold piece resting on top of a pile of trash. They had nothing else. Hell, they couldn't even fight. How hopeless was that? Pain flowed inside of them, a aching of feeling of hurt. Their eyes softened up and began to leak. It just wasn't fair! They couldn't fight. They just couldn't do it and never would. That meant the voice was free to do as it wished with them without any retaliation.

The voice laughed, mocking their already wounded state. "Now you understand, don't you? Your absolutely useless against an unrelenting killer such as myself. What will you do when I butcher your loved ones before your eyes Frisk? Will you just stand by and watch, or will you try to fight me and give into my ways? No matter what you choose, you can't win."

Frisk falls to their knees in despair. Tears streaked down their cheeks. The being never did give up trying to break them. Sometimes they wondered how long their sanity would last or if it was already gone. How many tears had been spent? Would they would they just run out? Is it possible that they could hit a point where they just didn't care anymore? The thoughts were endless. "Stop! Please just stop! I just want me and friends to live happily! Is that so much to ask?" They sobbed, the clear drops slapping silently against the tile floor. The tiny puddles sparkled in the rays from the sun lit windows.

The voice smiled in the shadows. "Because I love to see the hero break. Because your impeding my goal. Because I hate you. There are many reasons." It paused. "Say, how about a little game to cheer you up?"

Frisk lifted their head with a sniff, wiping their tears onto the sleeve of their sweater. They stand, weakly swaying. "Why? What is it? What sick idea do you have in mind next?"

"You ask too many questions," the voice said, tone low and angry. "Oh well, it wasn't a choice anyways. It's called; how bad can your nightmare get. We are going to have so much fun!"

Their stomach dropped and a shiver ran down their spine. Frisk wanted to wake up, but no matter how hard they tried they couldn't. It just wouldn't work. They were trapped here, forced to endure the torturous horrors of the being's unstable mind-set.

A feeling of panic draped around them like a suffocating curtain. They breath heavily and quickly. It was as if cotton were stuffed down their throat. They were sweating bullets too, sweater sticking to their back like glue. They felt the need to cry, to scream. But they couldn't. It was like being prepped for torture, the grieved journey to the room of agonizing pain. They didn't deserve it, but since when was the voice fair anyways?

"Please spare me," begged Frisk weakly. Even speaking those three words took effort.

The voice would have been smiling at this moment if it were to have an expression. "No need to worry. We will start of easy of course."

Frisk was done. This was all too much to handle. They started a long sprint down the hall, desperate to reach the exit and escape the evil in their head.

They pumped their legs forwards, each step becoming harder and slower. They glance behind them to see multiple strands of shadow gripping onto their ankle. _RUN FASTER!_ Crossed their mind, but looking forward they discover they had not moved an inch, stuck in place by some unknown force.

"Don't you dare run from me," hissed the voice. "It's very rude and I don't like rude people. Now that we are done with this charade, can we please move onto the game?"

Frisk felt the tendrils pull back on their ankle, ugly snaps filling the room as the shadowy appendages break their left leg in multiple spots. They cried, but the pain cannot be stifled. They are engulfed in a canvas of black and everything goes dark.

The pain faded away into a numbing buzz as the vale of darkness opened about before them. Large white particles of monster dust and all too familiar yellow petals dance in the loud gusts of wind which blow through this somehow lit emptiness. Fear trembled through them as they try to find the source of the voice. Was this where it was hiding? If so, they wanted to meet it face to face.

They try to get off the cold blackness which was the floor, but are unable to because of their injures. They pounded the floor in frustration and wept as they awaited torment. They didn't just dislike the voice, they loathed it. And now they were stuck in this expanse dotted with the remains of death.

A pair of glowing red eyes materialized above them, enveloping their vision with demonic light. "You don't know what it's like to different. To fit in with no one, to be hated by everyone. Even my own family despised me. Everybody used me as a symbol of their hate. Only one person truly cared, and now he is gone." The voice is that of child around their age, if not slightly insane and erratic.

Frisk frowned. "Can you really blame everyone?" They managed to speak. "I'm sure there were lots of people who liked you." They prayed they wouldn't suffer painful feedback from the all powerful being in their head.

"Used to," it said as its left eye twitched. "That's the thing. I'm disrespected by everyone just because I wanted to feel the sweet taste of revenge. I just wanted all those evil people to die for their actions against me, against all of monster kind" They took a deep breath. "My plan put him at risk and I... Well, I hurt him in more ways than one in my fit of anger. And it was all because he betrayed me and so I tried to take control. But alas, I was too weak. Hehe, and I thought I could be stubborn."

The truth hit Frisk's mind like a speeding vehicle. The tapes in the True Lab had given them a clear look on the history of events. Their was no denying it now. Only one other person besides Asriel could do this. Icy water ran through their veins as they struggled to speak the words.

"Chara," they said, dread hanging over them. They knew hardly anything about them, but it was clear they existed in this world and had died a noble sacrifice that had gone down in flames. Still though, it was hard to believe that the child could have become such a evil being. They were now the embodiment of pain and suffrage. And it filled them not with determination, but rather sheer terror.

"Yes. It's me. Chara," they announced, admitting their identity. The red eyes faded away into darkness as a light shined down before them onto a bed of golden flowers. Standing dead centre was a child their age wearing brown pants and a green sweater complete with beige stripes.

The child opened their eyes to reveal a pair of red irises, glowing with a wicked force of untold power and bloodlust. The smile matched the hungry gaze to perfection. Never had they imagined a grin being so sinister in their entire life. It was more than sinister though. The words demonic and inhuman struck them as more accurate.

Chara politely clasped their hands behind their back. They seemed eager to reveal their true form. Something that caught Frisk off guard was that they were slightly melted. Their left eye dripped a crimson river. It stood out a lot more when compared to the deep cuts in their hands. Were they self inflicted? If so, it would only make sense to assume they had more elsewhere. Deeper, bloodier wounds.

They looked down and proceeded to dust off their clothes. White monster dust flaked off in large clumps, silently floating away into the endless black expanse like gentle snowflakes. The blood stains remain unaffected by this cleaning technique. But they don't care. With a whip of bloody brown hair, they fling a wide arc of red droplets onto the ground behind them.

A flash caught Frisk's eye, that of a knife all too familiar held tightly in a white knuckled grip. It's clean as ever despite having claimed so many lives with its flawlessly sharp edge. It was bonded very strongly to Chara. They could feel it pulse with each beat of the child's black heart. It was obvious they were attached to the object, their hollow husk of a soul using it to magnify their strength exponentially. With that much determination and hate it was no wonder the knife practically throbbed with life.

"I thought you were dead!" They point a trembling finger at them. "I thought I saved you!"

"Yes. Yes you did," admitted the first fallen child in a voice all too much like their own. "But you don't seem capable of understanding how this all works. How the two of us are existing here in this universe simultaneously, despite being on separate plains of existence."

Frisk managed to tear their eyes away from the malicious stare of the child. They couldn't deny what they were saying though. What Chara was going on about was far beyond anything they could comprehend. How were they even alive? Something wasn't right. Was this what Sans was so concerned about?

The knife and its user reeked of death. "No answer I see," mocked Chara. "Well, what if we take things up a notch. I will make this a real nightmare for you."

"What?" Said Frisk softly as they are overloaded by a flood of images. Death, chaos, destruction and more. Every last fear exploited by some image or another. All of them. All of them existing here at the same time. People dying by the millions, cities reduced to rubble and ashes. The sky turning black with hate and the oceans red with the blood of the innocent. Dust and flower petals blew across infinite plains of scorched earth.

They screamed and screamed, but nobody came. The imagery switched from one brutal scene to the next. Every evil Chara wished upon the world was displayed before them, the horrid smells and sounds clear as day to them.

They feebly struggle to escape the grip of Chara, but it was hopeless. Frisk's determination was no match against theirs. Resisting was hopeless. Even hoping seemed hopeless.

"Make it stop!" They cried. "I can't watch! I don't want to!" They felt the need to cry, let the emotion out. But even if they did, it would do nothing to stifle the horrible images now emblazed into their mind.

"Having fun?" Asked the evil being from afar. The voice is distant, but childish as ever. "Hehehe, I love this game. Don't you?"

"No," Whimpered Frisk. Even words hurt to speak. The pain... Not even physically, but mentally. It hurt so bad.

Chara giggled. "Then we take it up a notch." At that moment, the newest wave of images arrived. However, these ones are different. They don't depict the general death and destruction Chara wished upon humanity and monsters. No. These depict the scarring deaths of their friends and family as true memory.

Chara laughed and Frisk fell silent, unable to express any form of emotion for the cruel sights before them. They were shocked still by this. They felt frozen in stone, trapped and contained. There was no way out once the sight was witnessed.

"I don't plan on breaking you with simple physical pain," Chara whispered over their shoulder. "Oh no, I plan to do a lot worse than that. I will break your very will and you will never smile again."

First to die is their adoption mother Toriel, cut down and gutted like livestock in a single blow. They feel tears in their eyes as she took her last breath. Her bloody dust faded away and her soul exploded into white shards. They wish it could have been their own soul.

It was no different for Papyrus who was killed with a similar blow. The innocent skeleton refused to lose hope, smiling as they brought their foot down on his skull, grinding him into dust. They kicked his ashes away and moved forward, determined.

Next up was Undyne, cut open and killed in an instant. Despite her wound she survived and transformed into a even more powerful form through sheer determination. She was defeated, melting away like a witch in holy water. With a painful expression she died, having failed her duty to protect. They spitted in her remains before moving on.

Mettaton tried to put up a performance, but was too weak to fight. He's steamrolled over like a pest. They hardly bothered to acknowledge his existence as they stepped over his robotic remains.

They finally reached the Judgement Hall where Sans stood patiently waiting. After all this death, he wasn't about to let them get an easy win. After a great many deaths they deal the one killing blow. He walked off, turning to dust like the others. Absorbing his EXP they moved on. They cried. It just couldn't be helped. The body count just kept stacking up. It was horrible. It really was genocide.

Asgore was next and with Chara in control, they strike him down. They were legitimately angry at him for being so cowardly and pathetic. Having been able to free monster kind all that time, yet he lacked the guts to do it. They slice him apart and take his EXP as Flowey, the next victim, stole their killing blow.

Flowey, or better put Asriel, was the only one remaining now. Chara radiated of hate and violence. The flower pleaded and they paused, tears in their eyes as they hold the knife poised to strike. They were best friends forever since the beginning. They loved each other more than anything, the bond between them special and strong in a way never seen before since the war. They wanted to save him... But... It was that flower, not Asriel. And he had betrayed them.

He didn't deserve mercy or forgiveness.

Every ounce of hatred built up to this point is put into their unrelenting assault against the poor flower. The plant whimpered as they cried, the first blow killing him instantly. But that wasn't enough. In a swirl of hatred they strike again and again until none remained. Soon, nothing is left but a pile of powder. Pleased by their actions, the tears fade and they are brought back to life as everything turned black.

"It hurt killing him," whispered Chara. "But he was just a fraud, a fake replacement. He deserved what he got anyways. I don't care. It paid off."

Frisk is brought back into the realm, the horrible images now gone. The relief was wonderful, but the memories haunted their mind. The dark seemed to leap out them from every angle. They felt their heart practically pounding out of their chest like a hammer. They wiped away their tears and took deep breaths. They just needed to relax.

"What if it had been him?" Asked Frisk on their knees as they laid eyes upon them. "What would you have done? Would you kill him, or the people he cared about too?"

Chara remained silent.

"Do want to suffer more than you already have?" Asked Chara coldly as they materialized beside them, over their shoulder. They bend in to get closer and Frisk turned to face them. The child being so close scared the shit out of them, that was for sure. The red eyes, the soul sucking breath in their face. It was really hard to think of this as nothing more than a dream. They just wanted to be left alone.

"Why are you such a good person Frisk?" Said Chara cryptically. "If you figure it out, you may just understand why I am the way I am." They grinned. "After all, I wasn't always like this. I'm sure it's the same case for you if we are so similar. But it will be time to get up soon as sad as that is. I'm sure we will see each other again sometime. I have things to do."

And as quickly as they arrived, they were gone.


	7. Chapter 5: The Man Who Speaks in Hands

Chapter 5

The Man Who Speaks in Hands

 ***HEY! I'M BACK YEAH! Did you really think I was just going to stop writing this story? Hah, no way hozay! I'm going to write this all the way through if it takes me a hundred years and kills me. So don't worry. There will always be more. Until the story finishes anyways.**

 ***Now, I know I haven't published in a while, but there are reasons. Three to be exact. The first is that I had things to do over summer and there were some technical difficulties. No need to elaborate. The second is that school has started up and now I'm going to be publishing on weekends mostly. The third is that I needed to work ahead on the rough copy because the actual story was going to catch up and that would slow me a lot anyways later on.**

 ***So, here's chapter five. Yeah, it''s a bit short but the next one will be a lot longer. I'm sorry for any errors in the grammar or such. I'm one person so it's not going to be perfect. Don't forget that feedback is always appreciated.**

* * *

Sans studied his surroundings. Being as lazy as he was, he couldn't have cared less about where his imagination brought him. All he wanted to do was nothing. Unfortunately, dreaming required doing something. He preferred a dreamless sleep. The lab wasn't too bad a choice. He could sit in one of those fancy office chairs and stare up into the ceiling without being bothered. Or he could watch over the various scientific equipment spread out along the surfaces of stainless steel counters. He wouldn't mind a bit of science fiction, but who the hell would read in this dim, spooky lighting. Bad for your eye sockets.

 _Why must labs always have that strong smell of clean about them?_ He wondered as he wandered through the endless expanse. He actually had his own secret lab, but he rarely used it. He quit all that science stuff a long time ago. And for good reason. The last experiment went horribly wrong. It was foolish. He should have warned-

 _No_ , he argued, scolding himself for thinking such stupid thoughts. _I cannot be thinking about stuff like that. That was a long time ago and the present is very different than the past. Maybe I should have tried harder to convince him. Put some more "backbone" into it as Papyrus would say. But that won't change the facts of the matter._

Silently, he walked upon the tile floor in his pink slippers. Hands in his hoody he turned his head from side to side like a owl. Just more equipment gleaming in the creepy lighting.

 _Nothing? I swore I just saw-._ He's cut off when a murky blob passed over the left wall. In seconds it receded back into the dark corners of the room. It frightened him not the least. Honestly, it was getting kind of boring. The question he wanted answered was, who's the shadowy guy? Probably G. Determination and the Void can really screw up your physical appearance.

Cautious step by cautious step he made his way over to the wall. How curious. At first, it looked slightly stained. Like somebody mixed the wrong chemicals or something and it exploded. But on closer inspection that was not the case.

It was in fact blood, human blood, and it spelled in great crimson letters, "All I gave you was mercy." Welp, that sure brought back a bunch of bad memories he didn't need right now. Or ever for that matter. He wasn't fond of having salt rubbed into his wounds. Fuck that demon child.

Another shadow, leaping across the ceiling behind him in a blur of darkness. His left eye flickered to life with a blue orb of concentrated magical energy. He scanned over the room for any sign of him. But he was gone, too fast even for even his own speed to match. He sighed and moved on.

Something tingled on the back of his neck, a cold feeling as he walked away from the message. _Oh no_ , he thinks as he flipped around to catch a glance of a fleeing figure. It was just too fast to catch though. If he chased it he would tire himself out and that would be a bad thing. That's what it wanted. Weakened prey was easy prey.

Breathing heavily he continued on, coming face to face with another wall. His magic tickled at the end of his fingers, ready to jump out at any moment he deemed necessary. This message read, "Why did you give up?"

"You know the reason I gave up G," mumbled Sans. He didn't feel the need to tell the wacko scientist why he did what he did. Gaster knew the answer. Hearing it from him must make him feel better or something he guessed.

He spared one last glance at the haunting letters. The words still sent chills down his spine. They shouldn't be there. They especially shouldn't be written in blood. That was a bad sign.

The gentle pattering of his slippers against the floor were barely audible. He walked down the extent of the lab, trying to ignore the leaping dark as it shifted along the walls. He was doing his best to keep a calm mind set, but the nightmare was beginning to get to him. As if dealing with timeline mumbo jumbo wasn't enough.

"I have learned so much Sans," came a ghostly voice from afar.

Sans snapped around, his eye literally throbbing with anticipation. Another shadow darted across the room, this one moving slower like a lurking spectre. It disappeared no different than before. It was as if it had never existed, no proof whatsoever that it was there. Managing a shaky breath, he looked up and saw another message reading, "It will all come together."

Fear replaced by confusion, Sans scratched his skull. Gaster always liked being cryptic. Even his font was one of mysterious symbols. He really needed to talk to Frisk about all this. He was starting to become worried about them already. They really needed to be careful. He had an idea, a starting point... But it couldn't be possible. Hell, there weren't supposed to be messages in this dream. Not this one. Could it be Chara? He prayed it wasn't, but the blood and words fit their profile all too well.

Shaking his head he moved on, eye scanning the room for any suspicious activity.

The lab eventually constricted into a long hallway of grey metal, the dull material dark as ever. Shadows danced along the walls of the corridor and whispers seem to come from every corner. He wanted to stop and turn back. But he couldn't. The unrelenting force of progress pushed him forwards. There was no time to waste. He needed answers. And Gaster had to know something. The knowledge he possessed was almost god-like at this point.

At the end of the hall, Sans came up to a door. Nothing about it was special. It was just a plain grey door with a ordinary handle. Sans knew what lay on the other side though. Every nightmare here always led to him opening the door to find Gaster. What he said and did varied. Sometimes he was happy, sometimes he was mad. Sometimes he would kill him. So yeah, it often ended on a bad note. If he was lucky, he wouldn't be dished a bad time. He doubted it would be good this time around though.

"No use just staring at it," He grumbled, grieving the events to come. Beyond the door came the faint scent of chemicals and burning flesh. Sans slowly brought his hand down onto the door handle. The distance between the two seemed infinite, but when he finally felt the cold metal on his bony hand he took a deep breath. "Here goes nothin."

He opened the door with a light push and walked into the great void beyond, the door closing behind him on its own. It didn't startle him the least, for he had gone through this sequence of events countless times. The door did more than close. In fact, it simply faded away, preventing any chance of running away. _No turning back now._

Anticipation tingled his bones as he laid eyes on the central figure of the room, working away at some kind of experiment. Squinting his eye sockets he could make out a figure in a dark suit who was illuminated by an intense red glow from several vials filled with a substance that could only be Determination.

"Yes, yes," mumbled the former Royal Scientist as he went about his work, rapidly scrawling notes. "Just as I predicted. If everything goes as planned the Barrier will be taken apart quite easily. And myself..." He paused. "Well, let's just say I'll be ever more so powerful than before."

"Don't be so shy," whispered a voice into Sans's ear. He immediately snapped his neck to the side, but only darkness served to respond. He hated to admit it, but the voice right. He had to go in and speak with him if he wished to get answers. Despite hating every aspect of that idea, he had to do it. He began the slow walk towards Gaster one step at a time as the monster rambled on. In the background a eerie piano melody played, the sound emphasizing Gaster's presence.

"Pre-emptive calculations are inadequate for the next scenario," said Gaster unaware of Sans's approach. "I must set new parameters to achieve desirable results."

Sans took a deep breath. It was weird that he remembered the genocide timeline fight with Chara better than the days spent with Gaster in the True Labs. It was as if his death had taken everyone's memories about him and his experiments with him into the Void. Until now that is. And he honestly had no clue as to why he could remember these things. Gaster probably had the answers but he wouldn't share them unless his life depended on it.

"Heya G," introduced Sans, doing his best to be normal and not terrified out of his soul. The scientist turned around slowly to face his former assistant. His face was half melted, hollow eyes deep and lopsided bottomless pits. And those abnormally smooth cracks that ran up from one eye and down the other; ugh, it should not have been possible.

Sans ignored the creep factor and continued talking. "You know your gonna have a bad time if you keep playing with that substance, right?"

Gaster, shaking violently, got up and slammed a unattached hand down onto the table. The table splintered in two upon impact, the glowing red energy of Determination flying across the area in globs. He flickered like a hologram, his very being struggling to remain real. He seemed not the least bit surprised.

"Sans..." Rasped Gaster in an ancient, worn voice of aged wisdom. "I want to be whole again. No, I MUST be whole again. It is not a matter of if, but rather of when."

Sans scratched his neck nervously. "You see," Sans said, trying his best to play innocent. "That's a bit of problem. I've tried to bring you back on my own so many times I've lost count. But it ain't gonna work. Ever. Your just a dream anyways."

Gaster moved his melted mouth into a weak expression of disapproval. "Hmmm… It seems that laziness has caught up to you. I can still remember back to when we worked together side by side. You were always so willing to assist me. It's sad to see a bright mind like yours go to waste." There was a threatening bitterness coating the last few words.

"Things have changed since you left," said Sans. He was used to his former master's rambling. Gaster usually did this because it helped him think things through. He needed to be wary however; the former Royal Scientist was a slippery man. Not only was he a genius, but his power was beyond that of any monster in the world. His power dwarfed that of Sans. He usually had easy time choosing between Chara and Gaster as his worst nightmare. Truth was, they were both scary in their own way. But at least Gaster may have had a shred of humanity left inside. Chara on the other hand was a hopeless cause.

"You still betrayed me," said Gaster. "You promised me, yet you broke it without hesitation." The figure glitches and teleports in a flash of grey light. Faster than even Sans could respond the monster was hanging over his shoulder, no sign of breathing detectable.

Sans shrugged the amorphous poltergeist away lightly and turned to face him, a dark feeling coating him just from Gaster's mere touch. He wasn't going to trust the scientist to not stab him in the back. Especially not here.

"It was suicidal," argued Sans for the thousandth time. He gestured a outstretched hand at him. "Look at what happened to you. I just wanted you to be safe."

Gaster slithered forward in a shadowy blur, leaning over him with a hunched back. He glared down on him, floating hands kept close by his sides. He glitches, the blaring sound of static itching Sans's ears. He did his best to remain calm, but that was becoming increasingly difficult to do.

"Yes," admitted Gaster with a sincere nod. "I may have been a bit short-sighted in my overall plan. But I have learned so much, oh, so much indeed. I understand now the true meaning of this reality. Why some can create SAVE files and others cannot. My knowledge exceeds yours by several magnitudes." He circled Sans as a shark would swim around its prey.

"But your stuck between the timelines now so you can't share that knowledge." Sans grinned, taunting a response out of the scientist. Probably a dumb idea.

"I know," whispered Gaster. "I want to be whole again. To see so much, but do so little is an intolerable existence. This loneliness I suffer is beyond crippling; rather, it is purely devastating." He sighed. "With the Barrier destroyed I see your world clearer than ever before. I'm so close, yet I cannot reach what I see. But people are beginning to remember me. Especially you Sans. If you knew the truth you would certainly forgive me."

Sans shrugged. "Sorry G, I can't really free ya. I don't trust you enough to wander about our timeline. That trust was broken when you ended up here."

"I just need something to give me an adequate amount of determination so I may have a sustainable form in your world." He twiddled his skeletal thumbs impatiently. "It's a shame you gave up on returning me so soon after that incident. The machine would have worked despite your, uh… Personal interests." He smiled. "Or you could just give me _their_ soul."

Sans eye sockets immediately thinned. "I would never, ever so much as think of doing that and you know it G."

Gaster's eyes spark to life as grey pupils form in his hollow eye sockets. The scientist may not have looked like it, but he was frustrated. His patience back when he was whole were infinite. But time and eager anticipation for opportunity seemed to have worn that patience down greatly.

 _"_ This is your last chance," said the former Royal Scientist coldly. "If you do not help me achieve my goals, I may be forced to put matters into my own hands and make choices I would preferably leave unanswered." He glitches. "I'm tired of being shattered across this bland realm between space and time. I'll escape through any means necessary."

The room fell awfully quiet as Gaster awaited his assistant's response. Sans was aware that things were going to go south from here so he had to be ready. This dream was all different though. The scientist was serious this time and he knew what had to be done. He had to say no. If he did that however, he would have to defend Frisk from two beings beyond his timeline. Not a preferable situation.

But what if he helped him and he killed Frisk anyways? If he returned, he would be nearly unstoppable. He could kill everyone if he pleased. Who knew what kind of madness could have infected him over all the years stuck in the Void. It was too risky. Best he was left here by himself.

Sans took a deep breath. "No. As long as your stuck here, nothing in our timeline will go wrong. If you get out you'll just destroy us with some sick experiment."

Gaster shook his head sadly. "Most unfortunate you say that. You always liked doing things the hard way, didn't you?" His left eye flashed to life with a holy flame of blue and his right blazed orange with hellfire. "I guess you never do give second chances. I thought you would care more about the people so close to you in your timeline."

Sans felt the words hit home hard, the ruthless accusations Frisk uttered in their rage. That feeling was soon replaced by a weightless feeling of telekinesis. It's almost relaxing, that was until the scientist began knocking him against the floor at a rate his own power couldn't even manage. Gaster let go and flung him across the empty plain of nothingness, his momentum sliding him across the cold darkness upon impact.

Thankful the attack was merely a demonstration and failed to do any damage to his one hit-point, he got up in a disorientated daze. How hard the fight was going to be was the first thought that came to his mind.

He placed his hand to his skull. _Holy crap, he's sure strong. And he practically owns this place. I'm at a severe disadvantage._ With this in mind he prayed he would soon wake up. He needed to escape the Void. If this place even was the Void.

Gaster summoned a pack of Gaster Blasters around him already charging. These ones are different however, firing small beams of condensed energy that deflect randomly of the nothingness.

Sans was familiar with instant death upon the first attack. This was new however. The Gaster Blasters were not normal, default model he personally used.

Sans ducked under one beam and teleported into the air above as the beams crossed and bounded about below. In seconds the lasers fade away.

Sans went in for the attack, teleporting above the scientist. He readied a salvo of bones and released them, only to have them deflected by a shield of Wing Ding symbols.

"Your struggle is futile," rambled the scientist as he launched another precise beam of energy. Sans teleported just in time to avoid the deadly beam. Now flanking the scientist he summoned his own Gaster Blaster and fired a normal, wide beam of magical energy. The scientist avoids it easily, simply disappearing before the attack even reached him. This fight really did seem hopeless.

"Using my own technology against me," said Gaster amused. "That's sad. I can see you still use the old variation. Unlike you, I've put my skills to use and have made a few improvements to my designs." A large Gaster Blaster was summoned in front of the crooked smile now dominating Gaster's white face.

The Gaster Blaster revealed its true power as a hoard of white comets came rushing out of its mouth. They immediately lock on and seek Sans who knew not what to think of this scenario. This technology was beyond his grasp. Gaster had more time on his hands than he thought, and that time was used with outstanding efficiency.

Sans counters by sending a flight of bones, hoping the sheer mass of projectiles would be enough to stop the assault.

Gaster was already prepared and the melted smile spoke of this. He clenched one of his floating hands and in mere seconds the entire wave of bones shattered across the void in useless fragments. It was clear he wasn't even trying. It served to be a terrifying example of his power.

"Fool," muttered Gaster. "You'll never understand the truth."

 _This is it_ , thought Sans as the ghastly comets zoom in on his location. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. _I can't dodge these. It's clear I can't beat him. I should just give up now and spare the workout._ Only one last hope remained.

 _Wake up, wake up, please just-_ His thoughts were cut off by a large explosion of energy that blew his hoody behind him like a cape. His eyes snapped open to see the attack gone.

"What the-" His throat dried and squealed to a halt as he observed a figure in a green sweater with scarlet eyes walk out before him with malicious grace.

"Chara," he whispered. If Sans was afraid of Gaster, Chara downright petrified him. Gaster seemed to fare no better. Finally, something relatable.

"Finally," said Chara coldly. "I've found you two. Let's just say there was quite the racket."

"Not you!" Screeched Gaster, panicked expressions evident through his facial deformities. He looked at Sans desperately. "Sans! You must leave now! We will continue this another time." With those final words he dissipated into the darkness, leaving Sans to fend for himself.

"That slippery bastard," growled Chara. She smiled cruelly at Sans. "I guess you'll have to do for now."

 _Wake up, wake up, wake up damn it!_ He closed his eyes and concentrated with all his might. _I really need to get out of here!_ On top of all his panic, his analytical side couldn't help but wonder how Chara managed to find their way into this wretched place.

 _No! No!_ He scolded himself. _It's all just a dream. A dream without meaning. Nothing else._

"Sans," came a voice from nowhere. "It's all just a bad dream! Wake up!"

* * *

Sans woke up to the feeling of being pushed. His eyes cracked open. Over him stood his brother Papyrus with his welcoming smile.

He glanced out his window. It was early morning, but the sun was still illuminating the Surface. Another day in this new world.

"Pa...Papyrus," said Sans groggily. "Why are you up so early?"

"I WAS JUST MAKING SPAGHETTI!" He said in his loud, joyful voice. "I WANTED YOU TO TRY SOME OF IT!"

Sans blinked heavily, still struggling to believe what just happened was really just a dream. "Yeah. That's, uh, good bro. Why don't you get it ready? I'll be down in like five minutes tops."

"GOOD IDEA BROTHER!" Said Papyrus. "BUT DON'T TAKE TOO LONG! YOUR MEAL WILL GET COLD!" Not bothering to hear his brothers response he dashed out the door to ready the morning meal.

"At least the house didn't burn down," he grumbled, getting out of his bed to begin his morning routine.

Sans had no clue about what the hell was even going on anymore.


	8. Chapter 6: Fire Magic and Breakfast

Chapter 6

Fire Magic is an Important Part of a Balanced Breakfast

 ***I'm happy all reviews thus far have been positive. Honestly, I'm surprised to be given such praise. I would have expected someone to crack down on my writing at this point, but that doesn't seem to be the case. I'm also suprised this was only eight thousand words. Thought it was longer. Regardless, I'm happy to see people enjoying this story and I will write this all the way through.**

 ***This chapter took way too long to write and edit, but I'm sure there are many mistakes because why not? The amount of editing was insane, but I'm not going to lie, this was fun writing. In this chapter we get to meet a new character and reveal Frisk's gender. Don't forget that feedback is always appreciated.**

* * *

Frisk woke up to a deafening crash from downstairs. They almost shot out of the bed in fear that their nightmare had become reality. Eyes flashing open, they laid eyes on their sun lit room. Taking a breath of fresh morning air they quickly dressed themselves and made their way to the kitchen for breakfast.

 _What could possibly be going on now?_ Wondered Frisk. This question was answered by a brawling Asgore and Sans in the living room. Could they actually just behave for once? At least it wasn't an all out fight. A little scuffle wasn't going to hurt anyone. It's not like Asgore could even touch Sans anyways.

Unable to understand why they were fighting, Frisk continued into the kitchen where Toriel was helping Papyrus make a edible meal. Nothing had thankfully gone wrong so far. Had she not been present Papyrus surely would have caused significant damage that would need to be repaired. They noticed that he was wearing his special cooking uniform composed of a chefs hat and apron. The apron read, "kiss the spaghetti."

"Good morning my child," Toriel said. She didn't even bother to bat an eye at the scuffle taking place in her living room.

"Why are they fighting?" Asked Frisk, plopping themselves down at the dining table in a cosy chair. The crash may have waked them up, but the world was still blurry and unfocused. The nightmare hadn't allowed for any good sleep. The very thought of it made their joints ache. They couldn't help but yawn as another crash came from the living room. The horrible images implanted by Chara hung dreadfully above them.

"They're fighting over who should have the TV remote," answered Toriel rolling her eyes. She kept cooking with her fire magic, the soft flames dancing on her finger tips. The bacon sizzled gently on the pan.

"ASGORE WANTS TO WATCH HIS DRAMA SERIES HE HAS RECENTLY BECOME ATTACHED TO!" Said Papyrus as he struggled to stir some batter in a bowl. Perhaps stirring a bit too hard. "BUT SANS REALLY WANTS TO WATCH THE NEWS! I THINK IT SUITS HIS LAZY SELF WELL!"

Frisk eavesdropped on the fight, listening to their angry shouts.

"But this is a new episode!" Complained Asgore in his deep voice. It was strange to hear the king of all monsters say something like that. He's a boss monster of course, just like Toriel. He had large horns and a long golden beard. In the Underground he had worn a crown atop his head and armour under his purple cape. He sometimes wielded a red magical trident, but he had never held it since he settled down up here on the Surface. Despite being the King of Monsters, he wasn't really scary. In fact, many called him a big, fuzzy pushover. He's a nice guy once you get to know him.

Today he wore a pink T-shirt complete with a flower pattern and a pair of shorts. They liked that style. It was very fitting for him.

"What if I miss something on the news?" Argued Sans, just as frustrated as the king.

The sounds of crackling fire and Gaster Blasters firing continued until Toriel simply couldn't take it anymore.

"Stop fighting or I'll kick you out of my house!" With those words the noise was immediately cut silent. It was so quiet that it seemed time had frozen.

"Yes Toriel," the two reply as they come walking out of the living room exhausted from their fight. Sans took a seat beside Frisk and Asgore sat at the head of the table, struggling to fit onto a small chair that barely supported his massive body weight. He had to sit at the head of the table because nowhere else was wide enough to seat him.

"Is there ketchup?" Asked Sans. If Sans loved anything it was ketchup. Frisk knew this well enough by now. It was all he really consumed at Grillby's. Or anywhere for that matter.

"SANS!" Yelled Papyrus as he nearly burned breakfast. "KETCHUP IS NOT PART OF A BALANCED BREAKFAST!" They caught Toriel rolling her eyes at the brothers' antics. Asgore was too busy lingering in his own thoughts to pay any attention.

"But I can still have it right?" He said as his small, white pupils darted between them.

"Sans," Frisk intervened. "Maybe you should consider cutting down on it a bit. I mean, it's crazy how much you-"

The skeleton waved their argument away. "Nah, it's the only thing I eat kid. If I didn't have my ketchup I wouldn't know what to do."

Toriel snorted. "You seem to be over dramatizing it."

He thumped his hands down on the table like a whiny child. "I want my ketchup! Come on, I don't even have any packets left! My pockets are bone dry!" He pulled out his hoodie pockets to reveal just how empty they really were.

Frisk wanted to scream. One moment he was all sorry and saving their life. The next, he was complaining about a lack of ketchup. Nothing really made sense these days with him.

They place their face in their hands, not in the mood for something stupid like this. Not after that hellish nightmare. "Sans, the world doesn't revolve around ketchup."

"Trust me Frisk," said Sans. "I know. But that doesn't mean I don't want it. I still like my ketchup. It's just that it is a personal matter."

Wow, this really was a hopeless task. It seemed that no amount of determination Frisk could muster was enough to fix their friend's ketchup addiction.

"YOU SHOULD TRY SOME ACTUAL FOOD FOR ONCE BROTHER!" Papyrus said just as annoyed as Frisk. "THE ONLY THING YOU EVER EAT IS MY SPAGHETTI AND THAT RED PASTY SUBSTANCE!"

Sans didn't reply, well aware of the fact that he only pretended to eat his brother's cooking. Frisk knew this just as well and was quite disappointed in him. At least they had actually tried it. It tasted horrible and they had almost threw up, but they still said it was good to be nice. In a positive note, it was getting better every time.

"I know bro. Trust me, I do. And no, we are not going to have the whole skeletons don't have to eat discussion either." It was fairly silent after that. He glanced at a bored Frisk and immediately began to wonder about their gender. They hadn't hit puberty yet, so it was impossible to tell physically. Nobody ever went clothe shopping with them or had done their laundry. They seemed to put a lot of effort into keeping it a secret. Either that or they were all just plain stupid for not noticing.

"Frisk, are you a boy or a girl?" Asked Sans casually, too bored and ketchup deprived to think straight. They gave him a dead stare. He wasn't impressed. "You act like a pacifist, but it's nearly impossible to tell which gender you are."

Frisk rolled their eyes as a feeling of frustration rolled over them. They stared down at the table, debating on their words. "Are you serious right now Sans? Are you fucking serious? Is it really that hard to tell? Have any of you even figured it out?"

Nobody in the room replied.

Frisk stood up and slammed their hands down on the table. "Nobody has ever checked any of my items? Listen people, I'm like twelve or something. I would think you would have at least noticed by now, but you haven't even gone clothe shopping with me!" They pulled on their hair.

"SO ARE YOU A BOY OR GIRL?" Asked all so innocent and oblivious Papyrus.

"I'M A GIRL FOR FUCKS SAKE!" Screamed Frisk. "ARE YOU FRICKING SERIOUS RIGHT NOW? MAYBE IF YOU ACTUALLY SPARED A GLANCE AT MY LAUNDRY YOU WOULD NOTICE I WEAR GIRLS CLOTHING! HOLY SHIT! I KNOW IT MAY NOT SEEM LIKE I'M A GIRL TO YOU, BUT COME ON! TAKE A HINT WILL YOU? HOW DOES EVERYONE AT SCHOOL KNOW BUT NONE OF YOU DO? AGGGGGH!"

 _Wow_ , thought Sans. _We really are just stupid I guess._ _  
_  
They sit down and take a deep breath. Well that sure used a lot of unnecessary energy. What a confession. They wondered if Chara was a boy or girl. Had they known it since the beginning? Maybe. She could see that being the case. But how did Sans not know after healing them? Must have not been paying attention. Lazy as always. Maybe he was actually too lazy to figure it out for himself.

 _I'm not telling you_ , Chara said defiantly in the back of their head. _Ever. Never ever. Never ever._

 _Fine_ , replied Frisk snidely. _Be that way_.

Nobody was spared shock from _her_ outburst. They stared at her dumbfounded. Even Sans was wide eyed. He scratched his head nervously. "Sheesh kid, I was just asking. No need to flip out like that."

"Yeah, I have to side with Sans on this," said Toirel. "Your language was most inappropriate."

"SOUNDED NORMAL TO ME!" Said Papyrus in his already loud voice. Of course he was unaffected by it. "STILL THOUGH! FRISK IS A GIRL? WOWIE! I ALWAYS WONDERED WHAT GENDER THEY WERE! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL MAKE SURE TO TREAT YOU AS SUCH!"

"Okay?" Said Frisk awkwardly. "Well, I'm sorry about loosing it. I mean, it's just so frustrating. You should have figured it out a while ago." She sighed. "I guess you still would have found out eventually anyways. Might as well get over it now, right?"

"It's nice you have clarified that with us, my child." Said Toriel."Now you are not just my child, but my daughter too."

Sans grinned. "That means I get to be the over protective father figure."

"Sans," scolded Frisk. "Don't get any funny ideas, okay?"

"No guarantees kiddo," he said. "But your too young for a boyfriend, so I'll be pretty laid back for now."

Frisk felt her cheeks warm. "That's not funny! I literally just told you not to get any ideas!"

"Do you know how babies are made?" The skeleton asked with a joker's grin.

She felt even more embarrassed. "Yes," admitted Frisk meekly. "My parents told me."

He laughed. "Heh, your cheeks are as red as tomatoes right now," said Sans. "Seems I still know how to get to ya."

"Can you please stop now?" Frisk said with her face in the palms of her hands.

"I would if I had some ketchup," said the skeleton as he stared down at the table.

Nobody liked his ketchup addiction but if it shut his big smiling trap they would gladly give him as much as he wanted.

"HOW ABOUT SOME OF MY AMAZING HOME COOKED PASTA!" Said Papyrus. "YOU LOVE IT JUST AS MUCH AS YOUR KETCHUP!"

"No I don't, I want my ketchup," he paused as his own words turned around and hit him square in the face. "I mean I love it, but-"

"YOU DON'T EAT IT?" Tears welled in his eyes. "BUT...BUT...IT'S SPAGHETTI! MADE BY ME! MASTER CHEF PAPYRUS!"

"Well...I, uh..." He struggled to search for the right words. "It's not that I don't eat it, it's-"

"DON'T LIE!" Screamed the skeleton. "THAT IS YOUR LYING EXPRESSION! I KNOW IT!"

"Sheesh bro," said Sans. "I won't. You see, I don't actually eat your spaghetti... Or anything you make for that matter. But that's not to say I don't like it, I just-"

"YOU NEVER ACTUALLY SWLLOW IT?" Papyrus said as he teared up.

 _Oh no, oh no, oh no_ , repeated Frisk in her head as they helplessly glanced at Asgore who hasn't said anything nor moved an inch since he sat down. He was still staring out into the great outdoors. Absolutely useless.

She really didn't want to see Papyrus throw a temper tantrum, but what could she do? They were just as guilty as Sans. They didn't like it any more than he did. At least they actually tried it in the Underground. Sans, not so much.

"Papyrus," pressured Sans. Sweating, he desperately eyed her for help, but she shrugged knowing that there was no way for her to help him. He kind of deserved it anyways. It was his problem, not hers. He wasn't exactly pleased by her response. She stuck her tongue out at him, childishly mocking his position. Sans rolled his eyes, done looking for her assistance.

"IS IT POSSIBLE?" Papyrus pondered, rubbing his chin. He wasn't even cooking anymore. Toriel was now running the entire operation. She seemed just as worried as them, if not more so. After all, it was her house. On the other hand there was Asgore who couldn't care less. He seemed calm and relaxed. How he was doing this was beyond her imagination.

"YOU DON'T LIKE IT?" He turned and pointed a dramatic finger at his guilty brother. His jaw was a deep expression of scorn, dominated by watery eyes. "IS THIS TRUE?"

Sans paused. "Uh...No."

The room became quiet, the sizzling of a cooking breakfast being the only sound. The scent of the meal did not suit the events taking place before Frisk. Papyrus was still holding his posture as Sans nervously shifted his eyes. An obvious give away that his brother was unable to detect.

Frisk knew this could become a utter disaster, but she prayed that would be averted. Toriel was keeping her cool quite well though, cooking as Asgore sat back, oblivious to events transpiring around him.

The king sighed. "It's a beautiful day out-"

Toriel immediately cut him off. "Asgore, please shut up." She gave him a disapproving glare. He turned around to find that exact glare and weakly smiled at his unfazing ex-wife before going back to his previous activity; Staring outside and doing nothing.

"Sans," began Asgore. "Remember when-"

"Asgore! No!" Cried Sans under the intense observation of his suspicious brother. He still held the exact posture. One would think he were a statue if they walked in at this exact moment.

"Don't!" Yelled Frisk, not impressed by his actions either. She draws out the reset button, finger already over it, ready to press. If worse came to worse, she was prepared.

Sans white pupils immediately darted over to her. "Frisk! What are you even thinking?"

"What's the problem now Sans?" Toriel asked confused, unable to see the button. "Frisk hasn't done anything wrong."

Yes, she knew all too well that Sans could only see her menu buttons and stuff. So yeah, it made times like this pretty awkward. And it was! Big surprise.

His eye twitched as the fact hit him like a brick. "Uh, nothing."

"SANS!" Papyrus screamed, all up in his brother's face. "WHY ARE YOU ACTING SO SUSPICIOUS? ASGORE! WHAT WAS IT YOU WERE GOING TO SAY?"

"I was just remembering how Sans likes to dunk on people with your spaghetti," he said. Well shit, now they really were screwed. Frisk took a sudden breath. As if not eating the pasta was the worst case scenario, he also abused it, making the situation the worst it could possibly be. If he had more than one hit point she would slap him into next week. What the hell was he even thinking?

Papyrus's jaw dropped in shock as Sans face palmed. Toriel was just plain furious. Asgore didn't have a care to spare and they, the only human, were stuck in a room with a bunch of monsters who now possessed heated emotions. It was a catastrophe waiting to happen.

"What the hell Asgore?" Yelled Toriel enraged at her former husband. It just went to show that Alphys's favourite ship had a long way to go. They couldn't even talk without getting mad at each other. Well, it was more Toriel getting mad at Asgore for doing stupid things. It was a improvement over murder.

"Hey," said Sans. "Don't swear around my-"

She flashed him the same deadly look and he shut his mouth without second thought. Hopefully he would realize that he was a huge hypocrite when it came to swearing around his brother. He just seemed to ignore the fact though. Probably lacked the energy to care. He had give up on that soon. It irritated her.

"BROTHER!" Sobbed Papyrus. "HOW COULD YOU BETRAY ME IN SUCH A WAY?"

"Papyrus, I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!" Said Sans, frantically waving his hands in front of himself.

Papyrus opened his mouth.

Sans pupils practically jump out of his eye sockets. "Please don't cry! Please! Please! I beg you bro! Please just calm down! I'll do anything!"

Papyrus took a deep breath.

Frisk swore Sans stress level doubled. "Papyrus, no! No! Please no, just no! No! NO!"

"NYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHH!" The piercing wale shattered the windows of the house sending glass shards flying throughout the house. The crippling sound seemed to have no end. It's just a constant pitch at the same volume. How does a skeleton even make that sound, especially one as agonizing as this?

Frisk covered her ears immediately, The sound was like grinding nails on a chalkboard except on a whole different scale. It made her want to throw up, but she resisted the bubbling bile. Ugh, it was still the most agonizing sound she had ever heard though.

 _HOLY SHIT_ , screamed Chara in their head. _THAT NOISE IS BEYOND INTOLERABLE! NOW I ACTUALLY HAVE REASON TO KILL THAT ANNOYING BASTARD IN THE GENOCIDE RUN!_ _  
_  
"It's a beautiful day outside..." Said Asgore who some how withstood the commotion taking place around him.

"Asgore!" Toriel screamed. "How can you just stare outside and ignore all this racket?"

"It's all in the wrist," replied the king. Not that it made sense or anything. He just looked out the window, not paying her any attention. Creasing her eyebrows and desperate to end the unholy screeching of NYEH she turned to Sans who has his ears covered too, squinting in pain.

"It's so loud that my nonexistent ears hurt," Sans said.

"Then do something!" Replied Toriel.

"I don't know what to do!"

"Just do something anyways!"

"How am I supposed to do something I don't know?" Lashed Sans, just as desperate to end this mess.

 _This is_ _fucking_ _stupid_ , commented Chara. _And you wonder why I want to end this world? Why don't you just kill him? He will never bother you again after that. Hehehehehe..._ Despite their cold attitude, she could tell they were struggling to withstand Papyrus's screech.

Frisk couldn't care less about their commentary. Why wouldn't they just stay quiet? It would be better that way. But they knew she hated it so they would keep on being annoying. That didn't mean she was going to sit back and take it though. Just because she was a pacifist didn't mean she could be a total jerk.

 _Shut the hell up, will you?_ Replied Frisk, not at all in the mood to put up with them. _I'm fed up with your constant bullshit, so could you please stop being such an asshole and shut your fucking mouth?  
_  
 _Ooooooooooooohhhhh_ , taunted Chara, stifling a giggle. _Bitchy today are we? You have a very dirty mouth for your age. And a pacifist may I add... I must say that Sans and this world has taught a bright mind like yours well.  
_  
 _I'm going to ignore you now._ And that she did. Their angry bickering and retaliation was left alone in the back of her head while she focused on finding a way to cheer up Papyrus.

Finally, the Skelton stopped his screaming. He must have ran out of breath, if that was something that could even happen to a skeleton. Maybe he just had to let it all out or something and that was the only way he vented. Relief spread throughout the room as everyone finally uncovered their ears. He was still very much sad, leaking tears from his eye sockets. Of course Asgore wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention while Sans looked like he was on the brink of death. This must have been a very traumatic experience for him.

Frisk sighed. Finally, it was over. Chara had stopped whining and everyone finally had a chance to enjoy the silence. She knew it wasn't going to last long though.

She couldn't keep herself from wondering about how Papyrus's ears were so resilient. Because wow, he wasn't affected at all by his own screaming. Everyone else on the other hand... Well, they had it a lot worse than him.

Frisk yawned. The nightmare still lurked about her like a deep aura of darkness. Anything related to sleep just seemed to make it worse. Every thought made the horrors draw nearer, become clearer. She really needed to stop thinking about it. But she feared every night she would suffer the same all too real torture, but only worse than the previous night.

"BROTHER," begins Papyrus in a sorrowful tone. "YOU HAVE BETRAYED ME EVER SO GREATLY TODAY. I AM INDEED FLABBERGASTED BY THIS. THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY YOU CAN AVENGE THIS SIN!"

Sans perked a restless eye socket. "Uh... Why are you being so serious bro. I said I'm sorry, I mean-"

"IF YOU DON'T DO WHAT I SAY I SHALL MAKE EVERYONE IN THIS ROOM LISTEN TO MY GLORIOUS SCREAM ONCE MORE!" Papyrus thinned his eye sockets in turn.

Toriel's eyes widened. "Just do as he says Sans."

"Please Sans," begged Frisk, praying that he wouldn't screw up and cause more problems. "Please do what he says."

 _I_ _actually agree for once_ , added Chara in her head.

Asgore sighed. "It's a perfect day for a game of catch. How about it?" He glanced behind him, giving a big fuzzy smile. Frisk loved every aspect of the idea except the time. This was not the time for a game of catch.

"NO!" Replied everyone.

"Fine," huffed the king as he crossed his arms defiantly. He proceeded to stare outside as if nothing else mattered. How bland.

"Okay, okay," said Sans raising his arms in surrender. "What do you want me to do?"

"EAT. MY. SPAGHETTI!" Papyrus pulled a lump of the pasta out of his pocket and leaped over the table and onto his brother, knocking him straight out of his chair with a thundering crash. He must have been too shocked to dodge. Sans flailed, but was unable to get up as his brother force fed him the disgusting substance.

Frisk awkwardly averted her vision, unsure about what to do. Toriel wasn't fairing much better. She seemed just as stunned by Papyrus's actions. She snorted and continued to make breakfast alone.

"TASTE MY GLORIOUS MEAL! NYEH HEH HEH!" Papyrus cackled, ramming the debatably edible food down his brother's throat. Sans seemed to be trying very hard to not choke or vomit. If either of those were even possible for a skeleton. Man, she still had a lot to learn about skeletons.

Sans reluctantly swallowed the last bit of pasta and got up off the floor, Papyrus nodding in approval. At least he was satisfied. That meant no screaming and no fits.

Sans wasn't happy at all on the other side of the spectrum. His fists were clenched in bone grinding anger and his eye twitched from white dot to blue fire. It was hard to take him seriously with spaghetti sauce spread all over his face.

"Asgore," growled Sans as he inserted his hands into his hoody pockets and leaned over the back of the king's chair. "Why did you tell him that?"

"Well," began the king. "I thought it would be best to tell the truth."

"THANKS ASGORE!" said Papyrus smiling. Frisk smacked their head on the table. She groaned to herself silently.

"You know what?" Sans asked, fed up and not the slightest bit impressed. It was time to fix this problem so they could all go back to a calm, relaxing morning.

"What?" He said with an innocent look of confusion. "Did I do something wrong that I wasn't aware of? Well golly, I-" The last few words of his sentence was cut off with a flash of blue magic as Sans teleported him away only to appear several seconds later.

"There," he said, pretending to dust off his skinless hands. "Problem solved."

The only response was a room full of disappointed glares.

"What?" He shrugged innocently. Nobody was impressed.

"Where did you put him?" Questioned Frisk, breaking the silence. She hoped he didn't drop him where she thought.

"Uhhhhhh..." He paused, rubbing his chin. "Home."

Toriel rolled her eyes. "You put him in Temmie Village again, didn't you?"

"No," denied the big boned liar before them, shaking his head slowly. "Why would I ever do something as horrible as that?"

"YOUR SMILING SO YOUR CLEARLY LYING!" Papyrus said. "NEVER CAN HIDE THAT EXPRESSION CAN YOU BROTHER?"

"Bro," said Sans. "I'm always smiling. I can't help it, it's just what the game-" He cut himself short.

"WHAT?"

"Nothing."

"FINSIH WHAT YOU WERE SAYING!"

"No."

More awkward-

"MORE AWKWARD SILENCE," finished Papyrus.

"Damn it Papyrus, don't say out of line dialogue that interrupts the reader," scolded Sans, all knowing.

"NYEH HEH HEH," he cackled. "NOW YOU HAVE TOO!"

"Shut up."

Frisk wasn't even paying attention. Their arguments could go on forever. Like that one time they fought over if McDonald's BigMacs were better than Grillby's burgers. Never had she thought Sans could be pissed off so easily. For some reason human food, (not including ketchup) unsettled him. He never ate McDonald's ketchup though, surprising enough. She wished he would just try something new for once. But he didn't care so he wasn't going to listen. Sometimes she wondered if Sans really was a smart as he said he was.

"Sans," said Frisk frowning. "That's a pretty awful thing to do. Are you sure he's going to survive?"

"Sure," he said. "Why not?"

That didn't really make her feel any better.

* * *

Asgore opened his eyes and sat up to reveal the all too familiar surroundings of Temmie Village, the accursed city state of bad grammar in the monster kingdom. They didn't even pay tax. But he never forced them to. They were so nice and cute...

Sometimes too nice and cute.

"Oh no," he grumbled as a white tsunami of vibrating fur crashed down on him.

"h0i i'm temmie!" Exclaimed one.

"I'm also be temmie! YAya!" Said another.

"King of Munsters! WAHahaha!" *dies*

"Dremarr S0 fluffle!"

"tem flake gud for hihg fibber diat!"

"Fuzy! Cud use tax muny for colleg."

"King Kong! Shud chek tem shop!"

"Hi." Said Bob. "Assgore."

"AGGGGGGGGFHHHHHHH! HELP!"

But nobody came...

* * *

Doubtful looks were shared.

Sans waved their expressions away. "I'm sure he'll be just fine."

"Okay!" Announced Toriel. "Breakfast is ready!" She dished out the meal, everyone but Sans receiving a fully loaded plate of bacon and eggs.

"Hey," said Sans. "Why the fuck don't I get any?"

"Sans!" Screamed Toriel. "You just said you didn't want anything!"

"I still want it to look like I'm eating." He stared down at his blank spot on the table. "Now I feel left out."

"Grow up," huffed Toriel. "Your no better than Asgore."

"Look," said Sans. "I'm sorry lady. Just give me some ketchup please."

Frisk rolled her eyes. He was such a suck up to her. It was obvious he liked her, even Papyrus knew this. Maybe Toriel did too and just never bothered to create a relationship. Oh, what was she doing, thinking about monster love. She wasn't even in puberty yet so how was she supposed to know anything? Her one friend was though, and she crushed over every monster she came across. It was a bit of a issue.

"We don't have any," replied Toriel as she sat down to eat her own meal. No ketchup meant Sans was the only one without food. "And there are no left overs for you anyways."

Sans slammed his hands down on the table in frustration and snapped his fingers, teleporting out of the room in a flash of blue magic. He was not pleased with their low ketchup supply.

 _Wait_ , thought Frisk confused. _Didn't we buy ketchup yesterday? How are we out?_

Unable to answer her own question she proceeded to eat. Only three people sat at the table and none of them bothered to wonder about the skeleton's actions. The substance being so important to him proved to her that he needed a hobby or something. Badly. Something other than napping or going to Grillby's. Maybe when he tells her whatever it was he promised, she could use that information to help him or something. She knew he would keep his promise. He always did.

 _Right?_ Added Frisk mentally. _He wouldn't make a promise he_ _couldn't_ _keep._ _It's just not like him to break one._ She felt a wetness seeping out from within. _Hold it together Frisk,_ she scolded herself. _He's just... Just...  
_  
 _Just what?_ Said Chara.

 _So empty inside_ , she finished. _He seems fake all the time. Even his promise... Fake._

 _You don't know the real Sans_ , said Chara before drawing back as would the tide.

 _Maybe I don't..._

* * *

Sans flickered into existence before the all too familiar refrigerator or "food museum" as his brother called it. Not wasting a second he swung the thick door open in a wide arc. It took substantial effort to move the heavy. Being a short bag of bones sucked. He wasn't nearly as strong as his brother. Glancing at the absurdly high sink that Papyrus had the genius idea of installing didn't help his self esteem.

 _And why did I let him do that again?_ He wondered as the fridge finally opened, revealing a wide variety of food stock such as spaghetti and spaghetti. There was also spaghetti with spaghetti, plus a half empty bag of potato chips. A cold wave of air washed over his bones like icy slush.

Now, the first half was over stuffed with spaghetti as any one would suspect. However, the other side, his side, should have been full of ketchup. But it was just gone. Vanished into thin air. The potato chips he was too lazy to finish were perfectly fine though. What kind of ketchup thief would resist the greasy goodness of those chips? They were even ketchup flavoured damn it!

Upon shutting the door his gaze was directed toward the sink. Papyrus had stuffed it full of those weird bone, dog treat things back in the Underground. Well, until that dog stole all of...

His eyes widened. _Wait a minute! Did that dog really take all my shit? I followed all the rules, didn't I? Oh wait. The whole healing magic incident. Right. I forgot. Skeletons can't use healing magic and_ _... Oh, but I uh,_ _kinda_ _did, healing her anyways._ _Not like I had much of a choice_ _though_ _. Welp, this dog is goin' to be hearin' a little somethin_ _'_ _from me.  
_  
Not wasting a second he stomped over to the sink in rage, ripping open the cabinet with a mighty pull. Inside was a small, white dog with a typical white coat of fur. It was wagging its tail contently, not caring about anything in the world. Littered about it was a half a fridge's supply of empty ketchup bottles.

""Hello," said the Annoying Dog. "Hi. I'm Toby Fox, the creator of this wor-"

Sans slammed the door in its face, well aware of who it was. Best that he didn't even acknowledge its existence. Then it would just leave him alone and forget about the whole incident. Hopefully. He wasn't in the mood to deal with the dog. It's not like it's called annoying for nothing.

With the same blank expression, he left.

* * *

Sans opened his eyes to behold a large Walmart. Several people jump back in surprise, but none ran away in terror. Human's have become quite accustomed to monsters and their alien abilities. So, upon realizing his identity they return to their typical shopping routines. Sans was impressed they had adapted to the presence of monsters so fast.

He walked on through the automatic doors casually, paying no attention to the occasional glance at him. The food isle was not far. On the way, the majority of people ignored him. He respected that. However, he overheard several comments behind his back. Among these were "why is he so fat?" and "what kind of a monster is that?" Then there was all the criticism about his clothing. Who knew human's could be so judgemental?

He strolled into the isle where he purchased the large majority of his ketchup supply. He scanned the shelves for the familiar red bottle. At least he was the only one in this isle right now. No more rude comments.

Quickly ruffling through his pockets he pulled out several gold pieces. He was hoping for paper money but this just made purchasing it super complicated. He jingled them in his hand before pocketing the coins.

The big problem was that human currency used weird plastic cards and paper rectangles with old people on them rather than pure gold coins. Because of this, gold was valued very high by human standards. This meant every monster was potentially rich here on the surface. However, they were still struggling to turn this gold into human currency. So, purchases with gold pieces were often a problem in stores. At least that meant he wasn't the oddball out on this one.

With thoughts on human currency behind him, he finally reached the shelf he had been looking for. Their was a slight problem though. Every bottle was empty. Even the no name brand was gone!

Pounding rage drummed inside him like a marching band. His eye twitched rapidly as a small white dog floated down from above. It's panting, slobber flecking down onto the floor. It was literally the last thing he wanted to see. And here it was, making his day worse by the second.

Sans took a deep breath to cool his furnace of rage before pointing at the empty bottles. "Why? Just why? Like seriously; why? This is ridiculous and immature. You should be ashamed of-"

"Woof," said the dog.

Sans sighed. "Just answer the question."

"Bark, bark. I'm a dog. Weeeeeeeee."

"Just answer, damn it!" Screamed Sans.

"No."

"Answer!"

"I lost my ball and found ketchup," it replied.

Sans clenched his fists. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Dog."

He couldn't help but be beyond frustrated by the dog's irritating behaviour. Why it now nitpicked him for every little rule he broke was a complete mystery. Hadn't it punished him enough all ready? No wonder his brother hated it like nothing else. Well, everything but a certain internet troll he was guilty of being. He stood silently, trying to find a way to receive clear answers. Getting those answers could be hard considering the dog was irritation incarnate.

"Bork, bork! Dog! Dog! Dog!" Not exactly what one would define as legible speech.

"Why are you even here?"

The dog craned its head up, considering its answer. "To punish you for breaking so many of my rules."

"That was a different timeline!" Complained Sans. "It shouldn't count!"

"Since when could skeletons perform healing magic?" The dog perked its ears in a quizzical manner.

"Shut up," he said pointing a blaming finger at the dog. "I knew this would happen, so just go away. Shoo." Sans tried to notion it away, but it floated there without care.

"I have punished you," said the dog. "Fear me."

Sans let out a exasperated sigh. "No. And why are you still talking to me?"

"I don't know," said the dog. "Why are you talking to me?"

Sans wanted to slam his head against the shelves until his single hit-point was gone and he faded to dust. The thing was just so... ANNOYING! Like seriously, it just never ran out of random shit to say. How could anything be so obnoxious?

"I am the god of this world," said the dog. "I like to go fetch. Woof."

"That's it!" He stomped up to the dog, getting straight up into its face. Its fur and breath smelled of jelly beans. "Listen dog-"

"Toby," corrected the Annoying Dog with a cheerful expression that only a troll could possess.

"Fine," replied Sans rolling his eyes. "Toby, you-"

"Fox," it added.

The dog cocked its head in silent mockery. Sans was at the brink of exploding. He took a deep breath, knowing it would be futile to stand up to such a powerful being. Instead he turned around and left, giving up on the conversation all together. He could get ketchup elsewhere in this city. And upon glancing back down the isle at the empty bottles he found no sign that the dog had ever even existed. Good, he didn't want it to.

Sans decided that he would go talk to one of the employees and see if they had any stocked in the back. A quick stroll through the brightly lit store finally brought him to a staff member. He was a mopey guy who reminded him all too much of Burgerpants. He was also very tall. Why did he always have to be the short one?

"Heya," said Sans catching the man's attention. "Would you happen to have any more ketchup in the back. It seems ya ran out."

The man perked his eyebrows. "Hey, monster dude. Sorry man but some dog, like, drank it all. It was totally wicked. Even the back is empty now."

Dumbfounded, the skeleton shook himself back into reality. "Whatever." He pulled out three gold pieces, staring into their glimmering surfaces like puddles of fortune. As he did, he conflicted over what life was without ketchup. It felt as though the whole world was ending.

The employee's eyes widened as he observed the gold. "Whoa. Dude, you have gold coins. Are you secretly a leprechaun in disguise? If you are, you like, have to give me some. I promise I won't tell anybody."

Sans wanted to kick him for that one. Really, a leprechaun? Yeah, then he expected him to give him gold. Yeah right, what a bunch of crap that was.

"Do I look like a fricking leprechaun?" He gestured at himself.

The employee blinked. "Well… I guess you are short and fat."

Sans stomped his foot down on the hard floor in frustration. "I'm a skeleton you dimwit!" He really wasn't in the mood for more of this. Humans were always so greedy and annoying. Hell, this guy was just as bad as the dog. He was also stupid as if it wasn't clear enough already.

"Sorry dude," apologized the employee. "It's hard to tell when your hair covers your eyes and stuff." He looked around and noticed the strange monster had disappeared. Unable to take this anymore, Sans had left.

And so ended his pitiful quest to Walmart in search of ketchup.

* * *

Frisk looked up from her empty plate to see Sans back in his chair, flashing into existence in a cloud of blue magic. He didn't look all that happy, eyes lowered and hands empty of ketchup. That meant he failed. How he did was beyond her, but nevertheless he did. If only he could frown. It would be far easier to know when and how sad he was.

 _It's not normal_ , said Chara. _That's for sure._

Frisk didn't disagree. They were right. It wasn't normal. Just another question Sans would refuse to answer if she ever even bothered to ask.

"HEY SANS!" Yelled Papyrus cheerily, beaming a wide smile at his brother.

"What is it bro?" Asked Sans, trying his best to hide his crippling depression behind that toothy grin.

"WE'RE GOING TO GO SEE METTATON'S NEW SHOW IN THE CITY!" He clapped his hands together with glee. "THIS WILL BE FUN!"

Frisk nodded in approval. When Sans had left Papyrus had chatted about Mettaton's performance this afternoon. They would have to get going soon. They also had to pick up Undyne and Alphys, neither of which could drive. So Papyrus was driving… Yeah.

Anyways, they were all really hyped to meet him. It was about time they did. The robot had been so busy that they never had a chance to visit since they parted at Mount Ebbot. He was just so indulged in his successful career here on the Surface. It was about time he met up with some of his old friends.

Sans slammed his head down on the table creating a loud thwack. "You know I can't stand that guy, right?" He lifted his head, peeking a glance.

Frisk's smile is immediately wiped away. "B-but…" Tears began to well in her eyes. Papyrus wasn't fairing much better.

 _Oh no_ , Sans thinks, shaking his head. _Not this. Why can't they just understand._ One low sigh later he beamed a happy look at Frisk that shuts off her tears like a faucet. She still looked hurt however. That look though, that innocent expression of sadness that ached his bones. God, that face was so cute it was dangerous. He struggled to resist it. Besides Toriel, he was the only one who could really resist it.

"Listen," said Sans gently. "I know you like spending time with me, but I can't always be there for ya kid. And that's the truth. Just because I can teleport doesn't mean I'm able to be everywhere at once. Also, you should know that we don't share all the same interests, Mettaton being one of those things. So please, understand that I would rather stay here, k?" He patted her on the shoulder lightly and she seemed to sit up a bit straighter.

She nodded weakly and wiped away her tears with her sweater sleeve.. Inside she was crushed, but his words help bandage her wounds somewhat. It was odd of him to just outright refuse like that, especially when the occasion was a long awaited reunion. He should at least greet him and hang out for a bit. She couldn't imagine him hating anyone. He was known by practically everyone in the Underground, but he never did complain about anyone... Except Jerry. Jerry was kind of a prick. But she was certain there was more behind it than being a MTT hater. Something was up and he wasn't letting anyone in on it. Oh well, she still had the promise. Sans would tell her sometime… Hopefully… If he didn't… Well, they would never forgive him.

 _I can't believe that piece of shit_ _has a thing for_ _my mother,_ said Chara. _It's disgusting. I want to puke._

 _Why should you care?_ She responded. _I thought they weren't your family anymore? Why do you call her mother?_ She knew she was pushing it with them.

 _Don't question me you stupid bitch_ , they hissed. _If you must know, she is still very much my adoption mother and I have every right to call her mother. Even imagining her with that bony bastard makes me sick._

 _Yeah, but that means somewhere deep inside you still love her right?_ Frisk said.

Chara growled. _I also know deep down inside you love my brother and by this I am equally disgusted._ _It's no wonder your so desperate to save him._

Frisk had to do everything in her power to not blush. _Shut up. I don't want to hear anymore. Just… Just go away. Please._

Chara rambled on, ignoring her pleas. _I still can't believe I was once part of this disgusting cesspool of monsters. A fat pile of bones loves my divorced mother and a wimpy, cowardly pacifist is in love with my brother? This whole timeline is a joke._

 _Stop!_ Yelled Frisk. _Just stop! I'm done, okay? It's over._

Chara sighed. _Fine._ With that final word, the voice joined the empty pits of her mind once more.

"Sans," Toriel said joining the conversation. "It would be nice if you did something with them other than Grillby's." She was definitely part of the reason why he wanted to stay. No doubt about it.

The skeleton grumbled under his breath, subconsciously looking for a ketchup bottle that didn't exist because some stupid fucking dog drank it all. How dumb was that? The last thing he needed on top of his ketchup crisis, morning shenanigans and dog problem was Mettaton. No way. There were more important things to do than chat with a famous mechanical pop idol. Plus, who would give up a chance like this to have some quality time with Toriel? Bonus!

"ANYWAYS," interrupted Papyrus. "WE NEED TO PICK UP ALPHYS AND UNDYNE BECAUSE THEY CAN'T RETAIN A LICENSE FOR THE LIFE OF THEM." Yeah, there was quite the story behind all that. Basically, Alphys couldn't handle the stress of driving and Undyne was fully loaded with road rage. At least somebody was able to drive. Sans probably could too, but why do that when your brother can taxi you around town?

"Well," said Frisk as she slid out of her chair. "We should get going I guess." Papyrus nodded and after exchanging goodbyes the two strided out the door, ready to go. She felt worried for Sans and couldn't help but feel stupid because of it. He was getting very touchy and there was more than just a lack of ketchup behind it. She wanted to believe he was okay, but he wasn't. Once he told her the truth though, she would do everything in her power to help him one way or another. They were in this together.

Pushing the thoughts aside they bounced into the car, Papyrus driving her off to Undyne's and Alphys's place. From the door Sans waved. For the first time in his life he wondered why they couldn't all just have a happy ending.


End file.
